90 Things to Be Thankful For

Gratitude—or thankfulness or appreciation—is often considered to be a positive—and frequently experienced—emotion, especially later in life (Chipperfield, Perry, & Weiner, 2003). It’s also considered to be a social emotion, or at least an other-directed emotion because it’s generally directed towards other people or outside of the self (Emmons & McCullough, 2004). Importantly, expressing and experiencing thankfulness is positively linked with happiness and well-being (Bono, Emmons, & McCullough, 2004). All this is to say that being thankful feels good and is good for us. So why not do it as often as we can. To get started, here are some things to be thankful for.

Here are some basic things that most of us can be thankful for each and every day regardless of who we are or where we are in our lives. Experiment by saying these thankful phrases out loud and see which ones feel good to you. When you find things that you are genuinely grateful for, take a moment to notice and express your gratitude to boost your happiness and well-being.

Things to be thankful for today:
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1. I am thankful for having air to breathe.
2. I am thankful for having water to drink.
3. I am thankful for having food to eat.
4. I am thankful for the feeling of the sun on my skin.
5. I am thankful for the smell of flowers and fresh-cut grass.
6. I am thankful for the people in my life who care about me.
7. I am thankful that I will get to live today and hopefully tomorrow too.
8. I am thankful for my health even though it may not be perfect.
9. I am thankful for the money that I have.
10. I am thankful for the things that I own.
11. I am thankful that my parents gave me this life.
12. ​I am thankful for the opportunities I have been given.
13. ​I am thankful for the opportunity to learn from my mistakes.
14. ​I am thankful to be able to think my own thoughts.
15. ​I am thankful for my body, which carries me through this life.
16. ​I am thankful that I can communicate and help others understand me.
17. ​I am thankful to be able to learn new things.
18. ​I am thankful to have a place to sleep at night.
19. ​I am thankful for time because it allows me to experience life.
20. ​I am thankful for the simple life.

It’s not 2020 anymore, but 2020 was a hard year for just about everyone. And even during and since 2020, there are things to be thankful for. Here are some things we can be thankful for since 2020.
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1. I am thankful I’m alive.
2. I am thankful to the people who I connected with even when we couldn’t connect like we used to.
3. I am thankful for the nurses and doctors and everyone else in any medical field of work.
4. I am thankful for my community.
5. I am thankful for anyone who gave or brought me food.
6. I am thankful to the researchers who shared what they were learning about Covid-19.
7. I am thankful for my friends and family.
8. I am thankful for kind people who help each other.
9. I am thankful for grocery store employees.
10. I am thankful that it’s not 2020 anymore.​​

Gratitude doesn’t need to only be about serious stuff—like food, water, or shelter. We can also be thankful for funny stuff. Here are some funny things you may be thankful for:
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1. I am thankful for funny YouTube videos
2. I am thankful for cats and dogs doing silly things.
3. I am thankful for sneezes.
4. I am thankful for the people who make me laugh.
5. I am thankful for silent farts.
6. I am thankful I’m not a vegan.
7. I am thankful for ‘laugh yoga’.
8. I am thankful for terrible puns.
9. I am thankful for Weird Al Yankovic.
10. I am thankful for bananas.

Sometimes practicing gratitude can get a little boring when we just express thankfulness for the same things over and over again. That’s why pushing yourself to think of unique things you’re grateful for can be helpful. Including variety in your gratitude practice can also make it more effective. So here are some unique things to be thankful for. Don’t worry if these don’t fit you. Instead, you could use these ideas as inspiration to think up your own unique things to be thankful for.

1. I am thankful for dandelion coffee.
2. I am thankful that if I forget to pick the radishes in my garden they go to seed and the seed pods are yummy too.
3. I am thankful when my cat kneads my shoulders in the morning.
4. I am thankful that my dad showed me that being an entrepreneur is possible.
5. I am thankful for my comfy bed.
6. I am thankful for free boxes with fun stuff in them.
7. I am thankful that I grew up in a place without cockroaches.
8. I am thankful for my neighbor’s chickens who are endlessly entertaining.
9. I am thankful for warm socks and slippers.
10. I am thankful for thrift stores.

In addition to funny things to be thankful for, you may want to dig deeper to reflect on more complex things. If you take some time to pause and reflect, you’ll likely find that you’re even at least a bit grateful for the difficult things in your life.
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1. I am thankful that today is probably not the worst day in my life.
2. I am thankful to have had love, even if I lost it.
3. I am thankful for the hard times because they will help me appreciate the good times.
4. I am thankful for failure because it makes me stronger.
5. I am thankful for anger because it helps me change the things in my life that are not working.
6. I am thankful for anxiety because it helps me prepare for the future.
7. I am thankful for sadness because it helps me better understand what I really care about.
8. I am thankful for the time I spent with the people who no longer in my life.
9. I am thankful for having experienced poverty because it helps me understand the experience of others.
10. I am thankful that things are not always easy. It helps me appreciate success all the more.

Another part of life where we might have a hard time feeling thankfulness is our work. It can be grueling, tough, and unfair. But if we can find ways to be grateful for parts of our work, we help ourselves enjoy it a bit more. So here are some ideas:
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1. I am thankful that my current boss is not the worst boss I’ve had.
2. I am thankful to have a job at all.
3. I am thankful for the parts of my job that I enjoy.
4. I am thankful to have something to do with my time.
5. I am thankful for some of the people I work with.
6. I am thankful that I don’t spend more time at work than I already do.
7. ​​I am thankful for time off.
8. ​I am thankful for my ability to cope with the bad parts of work.
9. ​I am thankful for my paycheck.
10. ​I am thankful that I am more than my job.

One of the most popular times of year to practice gratitude is at Thanksgiving (at least in the US). If you’re looking for some things to be thankful for this holiday season, check out these:
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1. I am thankful for a meal (maybe it’s even a good, big, home-cooked meal).
2. I am thankful for each member of my family.
3. I am thankful for my mother’s/father’s __________ (a positive characteristic you like about one of your parents).
4. I am thankful for this experience (whatever it is).
5. I am thankful this turkey gave its life for us to eat.
6. I am thankful to be indoors (if the weather is chilly).
7. I am thankful to have made it through most of this year.
8. I am thankful that someone cooked for me.
9. I am thankful for dessert.
10. I am thankful for celebrations in general.​

Martin Seligman, who is sometimes considered the founder of positive psychology, conducted a study where participants were asked to write down three good things and their causes each day for a week. The people who did this exercise, versus those who didn’t, reported more happiness 1 month, 3 months, and 6 months later (Seligman, Steen, Park, & Peterson, 2005). This suggests that this exercise may help us to pay more attention to the things we’re grateful for and that it is good for our mental well-being. So consider giving it a try.

Still need more ideas for things to be thankful for. Here’s one more list with the items that I’m thankful for today.

1. I am thankful for the weather.
2. I am thankful for my husband for offering to pick up dinner.
3. I am thankful for my yummy tea and the teapot that keeps it warm even though I take hours to drink it.
4. I am thankful for the lettuce growing in my garden.
5. I am thankful for the sun today and for rain tomorrow.
6. I am thankful that my computer stopped making clunking noises.
7. I am thankful that even though there is a lot on my to-do list, several big items have recently been crossed off.
8. I am thankful that I get to spend my days writing articles like these that make me feel good.
9. I am thankful that I continue to live healthier each day.
10. I am thankful for my life. It’s mine, and I am grateful.

• Bono, G., Emmons, R. A., & McCullough, M. E. (2004). Gratitude in practice and the practice of gratitude. Positive psychology in practice, 464-481.
• Chipperfield, J. G., Perry, R. P., & Weiner, B. (2003). Discrete emotions in later life. The Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 58(1), P23-P34.
• ​Emmons, R. A., & McCullough, M. E. (Eds.). (2004). The psychology of gratitude. Oxford University Press.
• Seligman, M. E., Steen, T. A., Park, N., & Peterson, C. (2005). Positive psychology progress: Empirical validation of interventions. American Psychologist, 60(5), 410.