But how does one make gratitude a habit? This post discusses five ways to become more grateful and make the gratitude lifestyle a habit.

1. Start simple

Start simple by thinking of three happy thoughts each night before going to bed. These can be something profound that happened to you — like you got a new pet or a promotion. But most people don’t have really profound things happening to them every day.

Start by thinking about the simplest things that gave you happiness on that day. Maybe a child smiled and complimented you. Maybe you played with a puppy and gave it food. Maybe you saw some pretty flowers that brightened your day. Start with the simplest, smallest things before going to bed, and watch how they improve your mood as you fall asleep.

2. Maintain a gratitude journal

Once you’ve gotten into the habit of thinking three happy thoughts and saying thanks to them before going to bed, you can take it one step further and start writing them down in a gratitude journal.

The point here is not to write amazing, life-changing incidents that made you happy. The point is to seek happiness in the mundane and be grateful for life’s simple pleasures. Even the smallest of happy incidents can light up your mood. Don’t hesitate to write something because you don’t think it’s important enough. Include the smallest details even if they made you smile for a fraction of a second during the day.

3. Express your gratitude to the people who matter

The next step in your journey towards embracing gratitude in your life is to let the people who matter know. It may be your friends, family members, or your partner. Just tell them how grateful you are to have them in your life and praise them for all the amazing ways they have added value to your life.

It might not be easy, especially if you’re not used to expressing your emotions freely. But you can do it with practice. Start small by just smiling more and appreciating them, and then you can move on to actually thanking them for the great things they do.

4. Fit gratitude into those moments before expressing your anger

Every time you are about to burst into a fit of rage, pause for a few moments and take a few deep, calming breaths. In those moments, recall three things you are happy to exist in your life and count them over in your head. 

Take a moment to express your gratitude to them. Visualize how fortunate you are and how much they have improved your life. Know that this moment of anger isn’t going to upend your entire life. Is it even worth it?

These few seconds of intense self-reflection before getting angry at someone can go a long way in reinforcing your gratitude habit. It will make you more thankful and gracious in general and help you embrace gratitude in your life.

5. Turn to technology to make things easier

You can do this in four ways:

• When you can’t access your gratitude journal, record yourself saying the three things you’re grateful for. You can also send a text message to yourself about your daily gratitude journaling points.
• Download a habit tracker and track the days you wrote in your gratitude journal. Seeing an unbroken streak for a long time will motivate you and help you keep the momentum going.
• Hire an accountability coach from this directory of Accountability Coaches. They will help you keep track of your habits and make getting back on track easier if you skip a day or two. 
• Learn from the experts at Better Humans. They write the most detailed tutorials on self-improvement.

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Search Amazon.com for books about happiness and you’ll get 33,001 results.

But you don’t need to read a book to find happiness. Here are ten popular and easy habits that can give you a positive boost:

10 Habits of Happiness

1. Smile: Move your muscles into a smile to encourage the same positive emotions that make you smile.
2. Write down three positive things every day.
3. Get enough sleep: Inadequate Zzz’s can wreak havoc on your health and happiness.
4. Do something for someone else: a positive feedback loop could explain why happier people tend to give more and vice versa.
5. Spend time with friends and family: social connections affect our happiness.
6. Express Gratitude.
7. Eat healthier: one study tied a Mediterranean diet with decreased incidence of depression. There’s even a diet that suggests foods make you happy.
8. Exercise: physical activity releases endorphins that boost happiness.
9. Go outside: Vitamin D you’ll get from sunlight exposure increases the feel-good neurotransmitter Serotonin.
10. And the most obvious one: only you know what makes you happiest. Identify what that is and make it a habit:

How to Start a Happiness Habit:

Right Now: Pick the easiest habit on this list and do it. I chose #1: Smile.

Then: If you’re on Lift, add a daily habit that makes you happy or choose the more flexible goal Complete Something That Makes Me Happy.

Image© CC Roona-MBH on Deviant-Art 

My @liftapp habit “Write three positive things about today” doubled in participants today. Got featured on @Lifehacker! http://t.co/glOg1oXy

— Zack Shapiro (@ZackShapiro)

January 15, 2013

What compelled hundreds of people to add this habit into their already busy lives? Science shows it’ll boost your happiness.

Actively recognizing the positive things in your life increases your longterm happiness.

The father of positive psychology, Martin E. P. Seligman, found that the practice of writing down three positive things a day and why they happened increased happiness and decreased depression longterm in his famous study “Positive Psychology Progress: Empirical Validation of Interventions”:

We… found that two interventions—writing about three good things that happened each day and why they happened, and using signature strengths of character in a new way—made people happier (and less depressed) up to six months later.

There’s another great reason to start this habit: Write three positive things about today is one of our most supportive communities. There are 1.56 props given per check-in on average.

How to start building this habit:

Right Now: Think of one positive thing right now and why. I’ll start: I’m happy you read to the end of this post!

Then: Add the Write three positive things about today habit on Lift. Set a reminder for 10pm each night. Get more tips by reading The Happiness Advantage or checking out Zack’s post.