100 Quotes of Thanks and Appreciation to Keep Us Focused on The Important Things

Do you find that you spend this time of year thankful and content? Or does it sometimes seem like our focus gets pulled away from those feelings by what we want and what we think we can get? 

Sadly in our consumer society, it can be really easy to feel like we don’t have enough and that we need more. When we do that we forget to count our blessings and be thankful instead. That’s when I find quotes of thanks and appreciation helpful to keep in mind. Having some simple attitude of gratitude quotes in my back pocket helps me refocus on thankfulness, appreciation, and contentment. These quotes of thanks and appreciation can also help me share that positive and thankful attitude with the people around me who really deserve my appreciation. 

Why Should We Cultivate Appreciation and Thankfulness?

We are so busy getting everything done for our families and maybe you are hosting, cooking and shopping during this time of year. It might feel hard to be thankful. Sometimes it might even feel like you are the one that deserves most of the thanks and you might not be wrong.  But how does stopping to make sure you have a thankful attitude help you? Why is it vital to cultivate feelings of appreciation and thankfulness?

There are a few reasons. When you stop to count your blessings you notice how much you have that helps you live without the scarcity mindset that fuels stress, overbuying, over-trying, and even envy. When you truly feel that you have plenty life becomes a lot easier and that makes you a happier person. With an attitude of gratitude, even when things are not ideal it’s a lot easier to make the best of it.

Another reason to cultivate an attitude of gratitude is that it helps you see the people in your life for how hard they try and how much they do for you. That opens you up for the love they want to give you and makes you more loving in return. Instead of feeling envious of them or feeling that they don’t help you enough, taking time to appreciate what they do actually do for you helps you to see them in the best possible light and commend them. In turn, when people recieve commendation they usually want to do even more for you. This builds an atmosphere of family teamwork.

Lastly, in this consumer society, we are constantly being told that we aren’t good enough in some way. We aren’t fit enough, skinny enough, pretty enough, cool enough, rich enough, smart enough or stylish enough. That’s because everyone is trying to sell something to us and they have to create a “lack” or “need” so they can fill it with their product. It’s important to remember that those are artificial needs and you actually are enough. Taking the time appreciate your good qualities, your individual beauty and the amazing talents and resources you already have can help you cultivate contentment and stop believing the lies that are told to you to get your money. 

Quotes of Thanks and Appreciation 

Now it’s time to get inspired. As you read the following quotes of thanks and appreciation take the time to feel them. Think about what you are grateful for. Think about the people who make your life better and the incredible blessings you have that you may not have ever expected. And most of all try to remember all the things you take for granted but should appreciate.

Quotes that Explain The Attitude of Gratitude 

As I searched for quotes of thanks and appreciation I figured out a couple of things. First gratitude is something we have to practice. It takes conscious effort because we are used to looking for the problems in our lives. Because of that gratitude is actually kind of hard work. 

Another thing I learned was that gratitude has the power to completely transform our lives. How? Well it’s twofold. When we stop complaining and start noticing all the good we change the way we look at our circumstances but we also improve our circumstances through positive action. Isn’t that amazing?

So here are the quotes of appreciation I found that explain the power of appreciation: 

Gratitude is an antidote to negative emotions, a neutralizer of envy, hostility, worry, and irritation. It is savoring; it is not taking things for granted; it is present-oriented -Sonja Lyubomirsky

Gratitude is a powerful catalyse for happiness. It’s the spark that lights a fire of joy in your soul. -Amy Collette

Gratitude is the wine for the soul. Go on. Get drunk. -Rumi 

Gratitude opens the door to the power, the wisdom, the creativity of the universe. -Deepak Chopra 

Gratitude is one of the most powerful human emotions. Once expressed it changes attitude, brightens outlook, and broadens our perspective. -John F. Kennedy

Gratitude is the single most important ingredient to living a successful and fulfilled life. -Jack Canfield

Gratitude in advance is the most powerful creative force in the universe. Most people do not know this, yet it is true. Expressing thankfulness in advance is the way of all masters. -Neale Donald Walsch 

The real gift of gratitude is that the more grateful you are, the present you become. -Robert Holden

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 

Gratitude is the antidote to the two things that stop us: fear and anger. -Tony Robbins

Gratitude, like faith, is a muscle. The more you use it, the stronger it grows. -Alan Cohen 

Gratitude is when memory is stored in the heart and not the mind. -Lionel Hampton

Gratitude is the fairest blossom that springs from the soul. -Henry Ward Beecher

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

The gratitude that we encounter helps us believe in the goodness of the world, and strengthens us thereby to do what’s good. -Dr. Albert Schweitzer 

When you are grateful fear disappears and abundance appears. -Anthony Robbins 

Gratitude is a powerful catalyst for happiness. It’s the spark that lights a fire of joy in your soul. -Amy Collette

Living in a state of gratitude is the gateway to grace. -Joseph Joubert

Gratitude is the healthiest of all human emotions. The more you express gratitude for what you have, the more likely you will have even more to express gratitude for. -Zig Ziglar

The root of joy is gratefulness. -David Steindt-Rast

Gratitude doesn’t change the scenery. It merely washes clean the glass you look through so you can clearly see the colours. -Richelle E. Goodrich

Quotes of Appreciation and Gratitude For Life

Now that we understand gratitude we need to look for things to be grateful more. One huge thing we all have to appreciate is the simple and miraculous privilege of being alive. Sometimes we take it for granted but these quotes of thanks and appreciation for life will help us remember how wonderful it is just to be alive. 

It is astonishing how short a time it takes for very wonderful things to happen. – Frances Hodgson Burnett

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

Stop waiting for Friday, for summer, for someone to fall in love with you. Happinessis achieved when you stop waiting for it and make the most of the moment you are in now.

A thankful attitude has the ability to transform a person’s perspective and even their well being. -Anita Miles 

The more grateful I am the more beauty I see. -Mary Davis 

I thank everything because everything teaches me something. -Maxine Lagace

Each day I am thankful for nights that turned into mornings, friends that turned into family, dreams that turned into reality, likes that turned into love. 

Thankfulness, gratitude and being able to serve others are the foundation of character. -Jim Loehr

If you concentrate on finding whatever is good in every situation, you will discover that your life will suddenly be filled with gratitude, a feeling that nurtures your soul. – Rabbi Harold Kushner

A thankful person is thankful under all circumstances. A complaining soul complains even in paradise. 

Allow your heart to overflow with gratitude and so, fill the world with love. -Laura Jaworksi

Inner peace doesn’t come from everything being good but from looking for the good in everything. -Jane Lee Logan

Life is a series of thousands of tiny little miracles. Notice them.

The simple things are also the most extraordinary things, and only the wise can see them. -The Alchemist, Paulo Coelho

Gratitude helps you fall in love with the life you already have. 

There is a calmness to a life lived in gratitude, a quiet joy. -Ralph M. Blum 

When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive, to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love. -Marcus Aurelius

This is a wonderful day. I’ve never seen this one before.-Maya Angelou

For What You Have

Beyond just being alive we have a lot. As I mentioned at the outset, the consumer society we live in is always trying to make us want and “need” more. They make us think that we are lacking something, or a lot of somethings when the truth is we probably already have more than enough. 

To fight that feeling of scarcity these quotes of thanks and appreciation will help us stop and look at all that we already have: 

Always be thankful for all of the simple pleasures – family, friends, food, love, laughter and hope. 

Some people are always grumbling that roses have thorns. Let’s be thankful that thorns have roses. 

Today be thankful and think of how rich you really are. Your family and friends are priceless, your time is gold, and your health is wealth. 

In ordinary life we hardly realize that we receive more than we give, and that it is only with gratitude that life becomes rich. -Maya Angelou 

What separates privilege from entitlement is gratitude. -Brene Brown 

The mind creates the abyss, the heart crosses it. -Sri Nisardadatta Maharaj 

The struggle ends when gratitude begins. -Neale Donald Walsh

When you view your world with an attitude of gratitude you are training yourself to focus on the good in life. -Paul J Meyer 

When we focus on our gratitude, the tide of disappointment goes out and the tide of love rushes in. -Kristin Armstrong

My socks may not match but my feet are always warm. -Maureen McCullough 

If you aren’t grateful for what you already have, what makes you think you would be happy with more? -Roy T. Bennet 

Practicing gratitude is how we acknowledge that there’s enough and that we’re enough. -Brene Brown 

You are the creator of your own garden. Plant kindness and compassion. Water with love and gratitude. And you will enjoy beauty all the days of your life. -Julie Parker

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

Happiness cannot be traveled to, owned, earned, worn or consumed. Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace and gratitude. -Denis Waitley

Gratitude is riches. Complaint is poverty. -Doris Day

The more you are in a state of gratitude, the more you will attract things to be grateful for. -Walt Disney 

Offering genuine gratitude comes from a willingness to take account for all you have been given and to understand that none of it was guaranteed. -Day Schildkret

In a world that focuses on the climb, gratitude is the pause that cherishes the view. 

If you begin and finish your days with thoughts of gratitude, you’ll find yourself living from a place of abundance rather than lack. Those first and final moments set the tone for the many minutes that fall between. -Erica Layne 

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 house into a home and a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow. -Melody Beattie 

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

Gratitude helps you see what is there, instead of what isn’t. 

I don’t have to chase extraordinary moments to find happiness-it’s right in front of me if I’m paying attention and practicing gratitude. -Brene Brown 

The secret to having it all is knowing you already do. 

The more grateful I am, the more beauty I see. -Mary Davis 

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

The most powerful weapon against your daily battles is finding the courage to be grateful anyway. 

Appreciation of Friendship Quotes

We are pretty blessed already! We have life and we have a lot more but what really matters is the people we surround ourselves with and some of the most special people in our lives are the friends we choose to bring along for the ride. Sometimes we have had these friends for so long we assume that they know how much we care about them. Sometimes we just assume they will always be there. 

These quotes will help you focus on people and stop to appreciate your friends. Maybe you will even tell them how you feel: 

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

Family isn’t always blood. It’s the people in your life who want you in theirs. The ones who accept you for who you are. The ones who would do anything to see you smile and who love you no matter what. 

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

When I count my blessings I count you twice. 

I want to say THANK YOU to the rare few individuals in my life who have listened without judgment, spoken without prejudice, helped me without entitlement, understood without pretension and loved me without conditions. 

Life is only as good as the people you get to share it with. -Darren Criss

Good friends help you find the important things when you have lost them…Your smile, your hope, and your courage. 

Some people arrive and make such a beautiful impact on your life, you can barely remember what life was like without them. -Anna Taylor

The deepest craving of human nature is the need to be appreciated. -William James

There’s always room in the heart for one more friend. 

Be thankful for everybody in your life, good and bad, past and present. They all made you the person you are today. 

There is nothing more beautiful than someone who goes out of their way to make life beautiful for others. -Mandy Hale

Friendship is a wildly underrated medication. -Anna Deavere Smith 

At times, our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person. Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us. -Albert Schweitzer 

Quotes of Thanks and Appreciation for Someone You Love

Friends aren’t the only ones that make life special. For many of us the most important person in our life is our spouse. That being said, our busy schedules and overwhelming times can cause us to drift away from them and feel more disconnected than we should. That can lead to a lack of appreciation for one another that leads to bigger problems. 

Let’s stop the cycle of taking our spouse for granted by taking a moment to remember all the things we appreciate about them. These quotes of thanks and appreciation for your special person will help: 

All of this nothing has meant so much more to me than so many somethings. -Kathleen Kelly, You’ve Got Mail

I have found the one who my soul loves. Song of Solomon 3:4

In case you ever foolishly forget: I am never not thinking of you.  Virginia Woolf, Selected Diaries 

No relationship is all sunshine but two people can share one umbrella and survive the storm together. 

I love that rush when he folds me into his arms and I can let out a sigh of relief, knowing I’m safe there. Always. -Michelle Poelking

He walked into my heart like he always belonged there, took down my walls and lit my soul on fire. -T.M. 

I love that you are my person and I am yours, that whatever door we come to we will open it together A.R. Asher

I never want to stop making memories with you. -Pierre Jeanty 

Happy is the man who finds a true friend, and far happier is he who finds that true friend in his wife. -Franz Shubert

Parents Appreciation Quotes 

Last but certainly not least we should take a little time to appreciate our parents. If you still have both of your parents that is an incredible blessing! If you have lost one or both of them you can still appreciate all the ways their knowledge and love is still a part of your life. 

When was the last time you saw your parents? Called them? Told them how you feel? Maybe these parents appreciation quotes will inspire you: 

Appreciate your parents. You never know what sacrifices they went through for you. 

Family is not an important thing, it’s everything. 

The love and strength of a family can conquer anything. 

Parenting is the biggest sacrifice one can make. It’s putting your life on hold to fulfill the promise of your children’s tomorrow. 

Respect your parents not only for what they’ve done for you but for who they are as individuals. 

One of the greatest titles in the world is parent, and one of biggest blessings in the world is to have parents to call mom and dad. -Jim Demint 

There is no influence as great as that of a parent. 

Keep These Attitude of Gratitude Quotes in Mind and Heart 

Wow! That was a lot of quotes of thanks and appreciation. I hope they made you feel all warm and fuzzy on the inside. They should have made you feel better about your life and inspired you to show your appreciation to the people you love. Maybe you will even include some of these appreciation quotes in a card or a text.

Appreciation is the key to a happy simple life because it is the key to joy and contentment. Without appreciation, you will never be happy and isn’t that what we all want? Remind yourself to appreciate every day by writing down three things that made you happy each day. 

If you have any great quotes of thanks and appreciation please share them in the comments below!