105 Be Thankful Quotes about Gratitude

Gratitude and being thankful are the essential keys to happiness. In fact, happiness does not automatically lead to gratefulness. Instead, being grateful is what makes you truly happy. Thankfulness helps you to focus on the various aspects of your life that make your existence truly worthwhile. It shifts your focus from all your desires back to what you already have. Even more so, it helps you to avoid forgetting all the little things in life that make you happy. Being thankful reminds you not to take your life for granted. This, in turn, allows you to replace feeling entitled with a sincere appreciation for all the wonderful gifts and joys of life. In short, practicing gratitude is a wonderful way to make yourself aware of all the precious gifts of your life, no matter how small. To celebrate the power of gratefulness, we’ve created a selection of excellent be thankful quotes. This selection of quotes about being thankful will help you remember how precious your life already is.

In our present day and age, many people find themselves unhappy. They continuously pursue happiness by trying to fulfill their almost unlimited wishes, dreams, and desires. In their thinking, acquiring more increases happiness. Yet, despite accumulating numerous tangible things, their happiness does not skyrocket. Instead, their happiness remains at the same level it always was – when excluding the temporary peaks in happiness.

“Let us be grateful to the people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.”
Marcel Proust

The central mistake numerous people make is that they haven’t learned to be happy with what they already have. Instead of appreciating the wonders of their lives, they always seek to pursue that which promises even more happiness.

Enjoy the following selection of the finest thankful quotes.

The key ingredient for a happy and fulfilled life is thankfulness. Let’s have a look at these powerful thankful quotes that help you to re-ignite gratefulness.

105 Be Thankful Quotes about Gratitude

What is so beautiful about the following thankful quotes is that they originate from the writings of exceptional individuals. These writers, poets, and philosophers gained valuable insights on life during their challenging and eventful lives. What is even more important, these incredible individuals have condensed their life’s experiences into some pretty wise insights about gratefulness. Thanks to their magnificent writings, you can remind yourself about all the precious aspects of life that contribute to your happiness. In fact, reading these fantastic thankful quotes allows you to identify so many wonderful gifts you can be thankful for.

Here’s our selection of the finest thankful quotes:

1.

“Some people are always grumbling because roses have thorns; I am thankful that thorns have roses.”
Alphonse Karr

2.

“Do not indulge in dreams of having what you have not, but reckon up the chief of the blessings you do possess, and then thankfully remember how you would crave for them if they were not yours.”
Marcus Aurelius

3.

“Cultivate the habit of being grateful for every good thing that comes to you, and to give thanks continuously. And because all things have contributed to your advancement, you should include all things in your gratitude.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson

4.

“Dwell on the beauty of life. Watch the stars, and see yourself running with them.”
Marcus Aurelius

5.

“Be thankful for what you have; you’ll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don’t have, you will never, ever have enough.”
Oprah Winfrey

6.

“Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.”
Melody Beattie

7.

“Be grateful for what you have and stop complaining – it bores everybody else, does you no good, and doesn’t solve any problems.”
Zig Ziglar

8.

“Gratitude bestows reverence, allowing us to encounter everyday epiphanies, those transcendent moments of awe that change forever how we experience life and the world.”
John Milton

9.

“Of all the characteristics needed for both a happy and morally decent life, none surpasses gratitude. Grateful people are happier, and grateful people are more morally decent.”
Dennis Prager

10.

“True happiness is to enjoy the present, without anxious dependence upon the future, not to amuse ourselves with either hopes or fears but to rest satisfied with what we have, which is sufficient, for he that is so wants nothing. The greatest blessings of mankind are within us and within our reach. A wise man is content with his lot, whatever it may be, without wishing for what he has not.”
Seneca

11.

“Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for.”
Epicurus

12.

“The brave who focus on all things good and all things beautiful and all things true, even in the small, who give thanks for it and discover joy even in the here and now, they are the change agents who bring fullest Light to all the world.”
Ann Voskamp

13.

“Gratitude is the sign of noble souls.”
Aesop

14.

“The invariable mark of wisdom is to see the miraculous in the common.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson

15.

“Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all others.”
Marcus Tullius Cicero

16.

“Let me encourage you to get up every day and focus on what you do have in life. Be thankful for the blessings of the little things, even when you don’t get what you expect.”
Victoria Osteen

17.

“There’s no happier person than a truly thankful, content person.”
Joyce Meyer

18.

“Thankfulness is the beginning of gratitude. Gratitude is the completion of thankfulness. Thankfulness may consist merely of words. Gratitude is shown in acts.”
Henri Frederic Amiel

19.

“When you rise in the morning, give thanks for the light, for your life, for your strength. Give thanks for your food and for the joy of living. If you see no reason to give thanks, the fault lies in yourself.”
Tecumseh

20.

“Being grateful does not mean that everything is necessarily good. It just means that you can accept it as a gift.”
Roy T. Bennett

21.

“Keep your eyes open to your mercies. The man who forgets to be thankful has fallen asleep in life.”
Robert Louis Stevenson

22.

“We can always find something to be thankful for, and there may be reasons why we ought to be thankful for even those dispensations which appear dark and frowning.”
Albert Barnes

23.

“I was given such a great gift. It’s a miracle that never stops amazing me and reminding me to give thanks, every day. Having a wife and daughter gives me a lot more purpose. I was much more selfish before, but now I think about what kind of role model I’ll be. I just want to be a better man.”
Jake Owen

24.

“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend.”
Melody Beattie

25.

“When I started counting my blessings, my whole life turned around.”
Willie Nelson

26.

“The unthankful heart discovers no mercies, but the thankful heart will find, in every hour, some heavenly blessings.”
Henry Ward Beecher

27.

“When you are grateful, fear disappears and abundance appears.”
Anthony Robbins

28.

“Sometimes we spend so much time and energy thinking about where we want to go that we don’t notice where we happen to be.”
Dan Gutman

29.

“The poor man shuddered, overflowed with an angelic joy; he declared in his transport that this would last through life; he said to himself that he really had not suffered enough to deserve such radiant happiness, and he thanked God, in the depths of his soul, for having permitted that he, a miserable man, should be so loved by this innocent being.”
Victor Hugo

30.

“Just an observation: it is impossible to be both grateful and depressed. Those with a grateful mindset tend to see the message in the mess. And even though life may knock them down, the grateful find reasons, if even small ones, to get up.”
Steve Maraboli

31.

“In the end, maybe it’s wiser to surrender before the miraculous scope of human generosity and to just keep saying thank you, forever and sincerely, for as long as we have voices.”
Elizabeth Gilbert

32.

“When it comes to life, the critical thing is whether you take things for granted or take them with gratitude.”
Gilbert K. Chesterton

33.

“When you practice gratefulness, there is a sense of respect toward others.”
Dalai Lama

34.

“In normal life we hardly realize how much more we receive than we give, and life cannot be rich without such gratitude. It is so easy to overestimate the importance of our own achievements compared with what we owe to the help of others.”
Dietrich Bonhoeffer

35.

“We would worry less if we praised more. Thanksgiving is the enemy of discontent and dissatisfaction.”
H.A. Ironside

36.

“I have learned that in every circumstance that comes my way, I can choose to respond in one of two ways: I can whine or I can worship! And I can’t worship without giving thanks. It just isn’t possible. When we choose the pathway of worship and giving thanks, especially in the midst of difficult circumstances, there is a fragrance, a radiance, that issues forth out of our lives to bless the Lord and others.”
Nancy Leigh DeMoss

37.

“To be grateful is to recognize the Love of God in everything He has given us – and He has given us everything. Every breath we draw is a gift of His love, every moment of existence is a grace, for it brings with it immense graces from Him.”
Thomas Merton

38.

“Appreciation is a wonderful thing. It makes what is excellent in others belong to us as well.”
Voltaire

39.

“For the yesterday’s and today’s, and the tomorrows I can hardly wait for – thank you.”
Cecelia Ahern

40.

“Be true to yourself, help others, make each day your masterpiece, make friendship a fine art, drink deeply from good books – especially the Bible, build a shelter against a rainy day, give thanks for your blessings and pray for guidance every day.”
John Wooden

41.

“Be happy with who you are and what you do, and you can do anything you want.”
Steve Maraboli

42.

“I saw all these blessings God had given me. The way to give thanks is obedience to God.”
Hakeem Olajuwon

43.

“Whatever happens in your life, no matter how troubling things might seem, do not enter the neighborhood of despair. Even when all doors remain closed, God will open up a new path only for you. Be thankful!”
Elif Shafak

44.

“I am thankful for all the blessings and talents I have been given, but most of all I am thankful for my loving and supportive family.”
Olivia Holt

45.

“Great things happen to those who don’t stop believing, trying, learning, and being grateful.”
Roy T. Bennett

46.

“Acknowledging the good that you already have in your life is the foundation for all abundance.”
Eckhart Tolle

47.

“Gratitude can transform common days into thanksgivings, turn routine jobs into joy, and change ordinary opportunities into blessings.”
William Arthur Ward

48.

“If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is thank you, it will be enough.”
Meister Eckhart

49.

“Whatever we are waiting for – peace of mind, contentment, grace, the inner awareness of simple abundance – it will surely come to us, but only when we are ready to receive it with an open and grateful heart.”
Sarah Ban Breathnach

50.

“Does not the gratitude of the dog put to shame any man who is ungrateful to his benefactors?”
Saint Basil

51.

“When one has a grateful heart, life is so beautiful.”
Roy T. Bennett

52.

“Make it a habit of telling people thank you. To express your appreciation, sincerely and without the expectation of anything in return. Truly appreciate those around you, and you’ll soon find many others around you. Truly appreciate life, and you’ll find that you have more of it.”
Ralph Marston

53.

“Joy is thankfulness, and when we are joyful, that is the best expression of thanks we can offer the Lord, Who delivers us from sorrow and sin.”
Thaddeus of Vitovnica

54.

“Before I get out of bed, I am saying thank you. I know how important it is to be thankful.”
Al Jarreau

55.

“Thanksgiving is a time when the world gets to see just how blessed and how workable the Christian system is. The emphasis is not on giving or buying, but on being thankful and expressing that appreciation to God and to one another.”
John Clayton

56.

“No one who achieves success does so without acknowledging the help of others. The wise and confident acknowledge this help with gratitude.”
Alfred North Whitehead

57.

“I may not be where I want to be but I’m thankful for not being where I used to be.”
Habeeb Akande

58.

“Sometimes we focus so much on what we don’t have that we fail to see, appreciate, and use what we do have!”
Jeff Dixon

59.

“Whatever you appreciate and give thanks for will increase in your life.”
Sanaya Roman

60.

“Those who have the ability to be grateful are the ones who have the ability to achieve greatness.”
Steve Maraboli

61.

“God gave us minds to think with and hearts to thank with.”
Douglas Wilson

62.

“Gratitude is the fairest blossom which springs from the soul.”
Henry Ward Beecher

63.

“Life without thankfulness is devoid of love and passion. Hope without thankfulness is lacking in fine perception. Faith without thankfulness lacks strength and fortitude. Every virtue divorced from thankfulness is maimed and limps along the spiritual road.”
John Henry Jowett

64.

“A grateful mindset can set you free from the prison of disempowerment and the shackles of misery.”
Steve Maraboli

65.

“Be thankful for everything that happens in your life; it’s all an experience.”
Roy T. Bennett

66.

“One of the main reasons that we lose our enthusiasm in life is because we become ungrateful… we let what was once a miracle become common to us. We get so accustomed to his goodness it becomes routine…”
Joel Osteen

67.

“Rest and be thankful.”
William Wordsworth

68.

“Life is not made up of minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, or years, but of moments. You must experience each one before you can appreciate it.”
Sarah Ban Breathnach

69.

“Got no checkbooks, got no banks. Still, I’d like to express my thanks – I’ve got the sun in the mornin’ and the moon at night.”
Irving Berlin

70.

“Be thankful for your allotment in an imperfect world. Though better circumstances can be imagined, far worse are nearer misses than you probably care to realize.”
Richelle E. Goodrich

71.

“Gratitude paints little smiley faces on everything it touches.”
Richelle E. Goodrich

72.

“Often people ask how I manage to be happy despite having no arms and no legs. The quick answer is that I have a choice. I can be angry about not having limbs, or I can be thankful that I have a purpose. I chose gratitude.”
Nick Vujicic

73.

“What separates privilege from entitlement is gratitude.”
Brené Brown

74.

“It’s funny, but have you ever noticed that the more special something is, the more people seem to take it for granted? It’s like they think it won’t ever change. Just like this house here. All it ever needed was a little attention, and it would never have ended up like this in the first place.”
Nicholas Sparks

75.

“Perhaps it takes a purer faith to praise God for unrealized blessings than for those we once enjoyed or those we enjoy now.”
A.W. Tozer

76.

“I’m just thankful for everything, all the blessings in my life, trying to stay that way. I think that’s the best way to start your day and finish your day. It keeps everything in perspective.”
Tim Tebow

77.

“Appreciation is the highest form of prayer, for it acknowledges the presence of good wherever you shine the light of your thankful thoughts.”
Alan Cohen

78.

“God gave you a gift of 84,600 seconds today. Have you used one of them to say thank you?”
William Arthur Ward

79.

“We must find time to stop and thank the people who make a difference in our lives.”
John F. Kennedy

80.

“The hardest arithmetic to master is that which enables us to count our blessings.”
Eric Hoffer

81.

“I’m thankful for every moment.”
Al Green

82.

“You pray in your distress and in your need; would that you might pray also in the fullness of your joy and in your days of abundance.”
Kahlil Gibran

83.

“The thankful receiver bears a plentiful harvest.”
William Blake

84.

“I wonder if the snow loves the trees and fields, that it kisses them so gently? And then it covers them up snug, you know, with a white quilt; and perhaps it says, ‘Go to sleep, darlings, till the summer comes again.'”
Lewis Carroll

85.

“We should certainly count our blessings, but we should also make our blessings count.”
Neal A. Maxwell

86.

“Piglet noticed that even though he had a Very Small Heart, it could hold a rather large amount of Gratitude.”
A.A. Milne

87.

“Gratitude changes the pangs of memory into a tranquil joy.”
Dietrich Bonhoeffer

88.

“Gratitude […] takes nothing for granted, is never unresponsive, is constantly awakening to new wonder and to praise of the goodness of God. For the grateful person knows that God is good, not by hearsay but by experience. And that is what makes all the difference.”
Thomas Merton

89.

“Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.”
William Arthur Ward

90.

“It is just that we should be grateful, not only to those with whose views we may agree but also to those who have expressed more superficial views; for these also contributed something, by developing before us the powers of thought.”
Aristotle

91.

“I would rather be able to appreciate things I cannot have than to have things I am not able to appreciate.”
Elbert Hubbard

92.

“Thankfulness creates gratitude which generates contentment that causes peace.”
Todd Stocker

93.

“For what I have received may the Lord make me truly thankful. And more truly for what I have not received.”
Storm Jameson

94.

“Let gratitude be the pillow upon which you kneel to say your nightly prayer.”
Maya Angelou

95.

“The unthankful heart discovers no mercies; but let the thankful heart sweep through the day and, as the magnet finds the iron, so it will find, in every hour, some heavenly blessings!”
Henry Ward Beecher

96.

“If we never experience the chill of a dark winter, it is very unlikely that we will ever cherish the warmth of a bright summer’s day.”
Anthon St. Maarten

97.

“I’m grateful for always this moment, the now, no matter what form it takes.”
Eckhart Tolle

98.

“An attitude of gratitude brings great things.”
Yogi Bhajan

99.

“Strive to find things to be thankful for, and just look for the good in who you are!”
Bethany Hamilton

100.

“The problem that we have with a victim mentality is that we forget to see the blessings of the day. Because of this, our spirit is poisoned instead of nourished.”
Steve Maraboli

101.

“We pray for the big things and forget to give thanks for the ordinary, small (and yet really not small) gifts.”
Dietrich Bonhoeffer

102.

“Those blessings are sweetest that are won with prayer and worn with thanks.”
Thomas Goodwin

103.

“Forget yesterday – it has already forgotten you. Don’t sweat tomorrow – you haven’t even met. Instead, open your eyes and your heart to a truly precious gift – today.”
Steve Maraboli

104.

“It is another’s fault if he is ungrateful, but it is mine if I do not give. To find one thankful man, I will oblige a great many that are not so.”
Lucius Annaeus Seneca

105.

“If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant: if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome.”
Anne Bradstreet

Bonus I

“Take heed, then, often to come together to give thanks to God, and show forth His praise. For when you assemble frequently in the same place, the powers of Satan are destroyed, and the destruction at which he aims is prevented by the unity of your faith.”
Ignatius of Antioch

Bonus II

“Not what we say about our blessings, but how we use them, is the true measure of our thanksgiving.”
W.T. Purkiser

I hope you enjoyed this collection of being thankful quotes and quotes about gratitude. How do you remind yourself to be grateful for everything you have in your life?

Stay victorious!