18 quotes on being grateful and why gratitude matters

Many people think the idea that being grateful helps you succeed, or makes it easier to reach your goals, is nonsense. Over time, though, you realise that some of this advice is not just for people with a certain “spiritual streak”: it actually works.

A few simple words of thanks can literally change a person’s life and mood, and that mood can rub off on you too. So here are some quotes about gratitude.

(See: 9 simple but extraordinary things to say to people at work every day)

Whatever your definition of success, and whatever your goals, I am now convinced that to get what you want, you have to be grateful for what you have.

If you are not, and even if you don’t see it now, I would venture that if you are not happy with what you have, there is a good chance you will be miserable even when you get the things you now believe you need to be happy.

We all want more, and that desire for more can blind us to what we already have and should be grateful for. Sometimes we also need to express our gratitude to the people around us, both personally and professionally.

Here are 18 quotes about gratitude

1. If a person is not grateful for what they have, they are unlikely to be grateful for what they are going to get – Frank A. Clark

2. In life, everyone can choose one of two paths: wait for a special day, or celebrate every day as special – Rasheed Ogunlaru

3. Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and never giving it – William Arthur Ward

4. Enjoy the little things, because one day you may look back and realise they were the big things – Robert Brault

5. Reflect on your present blessings, of which everyone has plenty, not on your past misfortunes, of which everyone has some – Charles Dickens

6. Giving thanks is the highest form of thought; being grateful is the best form of happiness – G. K. Chesterton

7. Recognising all the good you already have in your life is the foundation of all abundance – Eckhart Tolle

8. Gratitude turns denial into acceptance, chaos into order, confusion into clarity… It gives meaning to our past, brings peace to our present and creates a vision for the future – Melody Beattie

9. Gratitude is a valuable currency we hold, one we can pass on to others without fear of going bankrupt – Fred De Witt Van Amburgh

10. The best way to bring out the best in a person is through appreciation and encouragement – Charles M. Schwab

See also: 50 inspiring quotes from successful business leaders for entrepreneurs

11. A wise person does not grieve over the things they lack, but rejoices in the things they have – Epictetus

12. Sometimes our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person. Each of us has reason to think with deep gratitude of those who have lit the flame within us – Albert Schweitzer

13. The deepest longing in human nature is the need to be appreciated – William James

14. Be grateful for what you have and you will end up having more; but if you focus on what you don’t have, you will never, ever have enough – Oprah Winfrey

(Read: 5 Oprah Winfrey quotes on overcoming adversity in life and business)

15. 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

16. Thankfulness is the beginning of gratitude. Gratitude is the completion of thankfulness. Thankfulness may consist merely of words. Gratitude is shown in acts – Henri-Frédéric Amiel

17. No one achieves success without the help of others. The wise and confident acknowledge this help with gratitude – Alfred North Whitehead

18. Gratitude and attitude are not challenges; they are choices. You choose them – Robert Braathe

Further reading

• The philosophy of Bruce Lee in 10 quotes for entrepreneurs
• 7 famous Albert Einstein quotes applied to business

Featured image: Sybrand van Beest, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.