Grateful Quotes to Transform Your Perspective

This collection of quotes about being grateful will help you reframe your thinking.

Life deals each of us a unique hand and it is up to every one of us to make of it what we can. There is little else we can do but be grateful for what we have. When we focus on what we don’t have instead of being grateful, the negativity can get in the way of accomplishing more for ourselves.

What can you be grateful for in your life?

If you have your health, your family, good friends, a job, a home, a beloved pet, an education, or anything else positive, start by being grateful for the things you have. You don’t have to be religious to count your blessings. Being able to identify what is working in your life is a great starting point for taking the next steps to improve other areas.

Below is our selection of inspirational, wise, and thought-provoking grateful quotes and sayings, collected from a variety of sources over the years.

Don’t forget to also read these gratitude quotes celebrating life, love and friends.

Grateful quotes to appreciate life and simple things

1.) “This is a wonderful day. I’ve never seen this one before.” – Maya Angelou

2.) “Let us rise up and be thankful, for if we didn’t learn a lot today, at least we learned a little, and if we didn’t learn a little, at least we didn’t get sick, and if we got sick, at least we didn’t die; so, let us all be thankful.” – Buddha

3.) “The smallest act of kindness is worth more than the grandest intention.” – Oscar Wilde

4.) “My socks may not match, but my feet are always warm.” – Maureen McCullough

5.) “So much has been given to me; I have no time to ponder over that which has been denied.” – Helen Keller

6.) Stop now. Enjoy the moment. It’s now or never.” – Maxime Lagacé

7.) “As long as this exists, this sunshine and this cloudless sky, and as long as I can enjoy it, how can I be sad?” – Anne Frank

8.) “The best way to pay for a lovely moment is to enjoy it.” – Richard Bach

9.) “The world gives you way more than you ever give it.” – Kamal Ravikant

10.) “Gratitude is the ability to experience life as a gift. It liberates us from the prison of self-preoccupation.” – John Ortberg

11.) “Gratitude is the memory of the heart.” – Jean Baptiste Massieu

12.) “Forget injuries, never forget kindnesses.” – Confucius

13.) “Ingratitude is monstrous.” – William Shakespeare

14.) “Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not.” – Epicurus

Grateful quotes about expressing your gratitude

15.) “Silent gratitude isn’t very much to anyone.” – Gertrude Stein

16.) “No duty is more urgent than that of returning thanks.” – James Allen

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

18.) “There is as much greatness of mind in acknowledging a good turn, as in doing it.” – Seneca

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

20.) “Giving thanks for abundance is greater than the abundance itself.” – Rumi
If you’re enjoying these quotes, make sure to read our collection of Rumi quotes from the iconic poet.

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

22.) “The essence of all beautiful art is gratitude.” – Friedrich Nietzsche

23.) “May the work of your hands be a sign of gratitude and reverence to the human condition.” – Mahatma Gandhi

24.) “Gratitude is a currency that we can mint for ourselves, and spend without fear of bankruptcy.” – Fred De Witt Van Amburgh

25.) “Train yourself never to put off the word or action for the expression of gratitude.” – Albert Schweitzer

26.) “Gratitude is the most exquisite form of courtesy.” – Jacques Maritain

27.) “Find the good and praise it.” – Alex Haley

28.) “Giving is an expression of gratitude for our blessings.” – Laura Arrillaga-Andreessen

29.) “True forgiveness is when you can say, ‘Thank you for that experience.’” – Oprah Winfrey

Don’t forget to also read these Mr. Rogers quotes to make every day beautiful.

Grateful quotes about the importance of being thankful

30.) “Gratitude turns what we have into enough.” – Aesop

31.) “Gratitude is the fairest blossom that springs from the soul.” – Henry Ward Beecher

32.) “Gratitude is riches. Complaint is poverty.” – Doris Day

33.) “If a fellow isn’t thankful for what he’s got, he isn’t likely to be thankful for what he’s going to get.” – Frank A. Clark

34.) “There is a calmness to a life lived in gratitude, a quiet joy.” – Ralph H. Blum

35.) “I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought, and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder.” – Gilbert K. Chesterton

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

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

38.) “The thankful receiver bears a plentiful harvest.” – William Blake
If you’re enjoying these quotes, you’ll love our collection of William Blake quotes for the creative soul.

39.) “Gratitude opens the door to the power, the wisdom, the creativity of the universe. You open the door through gratitude.” – Deepak Chopra

40.) “Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life.” – Melody Beattie

41.) “The deepest craving of human nature is the need to be appreciated.” – William James

42.) “Our favorite attitude should be gratitude.” – Zig Ziglar

43.) “If you are really thankful, what do you do? You share.” – W. Clement Stone

44.) “Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues but the parent of all others.” – Marcus Tellius Cicero

Grateful quotes about gratitude and keeping things in perspective

45.) “Gratitude is what you feel when you want what you already have.” – James Clear

46.) “A sense of blessedness comes from a change of heart, not from more blessings.” – Mason Cooley
If you’re enjoying these quotes, make sure to read our collection of blessed quotes to help you idenity the blessings in your life.

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

48.) “We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorns have roses.” – Alphonse Karr

49.) “Hardship is a blessing when it spurs effort and development; ease is a curse when it increases complacency and self-indulgence.” – Muso Kokushi

50.) “I was complaining that I had no shoes till I met a man who had no feet.” – Confucius

51.) “There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.” – Albert Einstein

52.) “He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has.” – Epictetus
If you’re enjoying these quotes, you’ll love our collection of Epictetus quotes that will make you think.

53.) “There are always flowers for those who want to see them.” – Henri Matisse

54.) “Gratitude is a duty which ought to be paid, but which none have a right to expect.” – Jean-Jacques Rousseau

55.) “When you are grateful, fear disappears and abundance appears.” – Tony Robbins

56.) “Every blessing ignored becomes a curse.” – Paulo Coelho

Also check out these hilarious Shrek quotes to bring out the ogre in you.

Grateful quotes that will make your day better

57. “Gratitude is an opener of locked-up blessings.” – Marianne Williamson

58. “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

59. “When you are grateful fear disappears and abundance appears.” – Tony Robbins

60. “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

61. “Gratitude is one of the most medicinal emotions we can feel. It elevates our moods and fills us with joy.” – Sara Avant Stover

62. “Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things.” —Robert Brault

63. “Have gratitude for the things you’re discarding. By giving gratitude, you’re giving closure to the relationship with that object, and by doing so, it becomes a lot easier to let go.” – Marie Kondo

64. “The way to develop the best that is in a person is by appreciation and encouragement.” —Charles Schwab

65. “When gratitude becomes an essential foundation in our lives, miracles start to appear everywhere.” – Emmanuel Dalgher

Grateful quotes that will change your perspective

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

67. “It is better to dwell on the beautiful things in life than the negative.” – Lailah Gifty Akita

68. “Express gratitude for the greatness of small things.” – Richie Norton

69. “Be grateful for what you already have while you pursue your goals.” – Roy Bennett

70. “The more grateful we are, the more we practice this in our everyday lives, the more connected we become to the universe around us.” – Stephen Richards

71. “Gratitude is indeed medicine. It is the antidote for greed and misery.” – Richelle E. Goodrich

72. “Life is full of blessings we take for granted. Yet so often we dwell on what we don’t have. Appreciate what you already have and be grateful.” – Napz Cherub Pellazo

73. “Mindfulness is by far the most supreme expression of gratefulness for being alive.” – Mokokoma Mokhonoana

74. “No matter what happen, always choose to have a grateful heart.” – Napz Cherub Pellazo

75. “Gratitude is often caused not by gain but by loss.” – Mokokoma Mokhonoana

76. “We have so many things to be grateful for, if only we took a moment to appreciate them.” – Sai Pradeep

Other grateful quotes and sayings

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

78. “Walk as if you are kissing the Earth with your feet.” – Thich Nhat Hanh

79. “Pursue what catches your heart, not what catches your eyes.” – Roy T. Bennett

80. “Start each day with a positive thought and a grateful heart.” – Roy T. Bennett

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

82. “Sometimes life knocks you on your ass… get up, get up, get up!!! Happiness is not the absence of problems, it’s the ability to deal with them.” – Steve Maraboli

83. “Always remember people who have helped you along the way, and don’t forget to lift someone up.” – Roy T. Bennett

84. “At the end of the day, let there be no excuses, no explanations, no regrets.” – Steve Maraboli

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

86. “Let gratitude be the pillow upon which you kneel to say your nightly prayer. And let faith be the bridge you build to overcome evil and welcome good.” – Maya Angelou

How can being grateful for what you have transform your life?

Being grateful for what you have magnifies the good while minimizing the bad. It allows you to take a positive perspective that enables you to make room for more good to come into your life.

When you focus on what’s working by being grateful, you can see more clearly how to bring the rest of your life into order. Conversely, if you focus on the difficulties and trauma you may have experienced instead of being grateful for that which is good, you may find yourself stuck in a rut of negativity. We can all have our moments, but whenever you can take control, it’s best to choose to be grateful!

What’s your biggest takeaway from these grateful quotes and sayings? Do you have any other favorite quotes to add? Let us know in the comment section below.