Want to Be Happier? Here’s How You Get More Grateful In 17 Questions

To improve your outlook for 2024

Gratitude is the simple way to a happier life.

So often you forget to stop and see where you are because you’re so consumed by looking all over the internet at the other people doing ‘cooler’ things than you are.

As humans, we’re captivated by the world around us. You get so caught up in everyone else’s life that you forget to live your own.

I did this for years.

Gratitude journalling

With that in mind, a simple fix offers a lot.

If you can become more aware of your world, and more thankful for everything you do have, life opens up. The world becomes clearer. You find yourself lost in your world as a pose to someone else’s.

That’s where we want to get to, we need to get better at appreciating what we have and where we are. This is how you do that. Ask yourself these questions, in this order.

The 17 questions:

1. What am I good at?
2. What gives me energy?
3. What puts me in a good mood?
4. What activities give me purpose?
5. What are you looking forward to?
6. What do you love about yourself?
7. What has made you laugh today?
8. What was the highlight of your day?
9. What about your work are you grateful for?
10. What’s one good conversation you had today?
11. What’s one good thing that’s happened today?
12. What have I done in my life that I’m proud of?
13. What qualities do you admire in somebody else?
14. What three things do you love about where you live?
15. What things do you own that make your life easier?
16. Which friends are you most grateful for having and why?
17. What’s one thing that makes you realize how fortunate you are?

If you can start to answer these questions and I don’t just mean ‘kinda’ answer them. I mean go deep. Really get into the nuts and bolts of questions like ‘what am I good at?’ Think deeply.

Are you good at understanding the problem? Are you good at working with numbers? Are you good at working with animals? Are you good at presenting? Are you good at investing? Are you good at teaching? Are you good at reading? Are you good at writing? Are you good at talking?

Ask, ask, ask.

And for the record, it’s okay to say you are good at a whole host of things.

Start reflecting

Understanding one’s self is a lifelong journey and nothing new. It’s no big revelation that taking time each day to reflect on how far you’ve come, what you have, and how rich your life is will ultimately make for a happier day.

Do this for a week and you’ll notice your mood sky-rocket.

It’s not that we lack things, we lack the reflection on those things that make us happy. Likely, you have everything you need to be as happy as Larry. It’s the reflection that you are missing.

The gratitude habit

If you can get into the habit of doing this most evenings, the good news is that you will find yourself more grateful than you’ve ever been. You’ll find opportunities to reflect and enjoy life each and every day.

You’ll find yourself looking for things in your day to be grateful for, which is way better than the opposite.

How this changed things for me

This year I sat down to reflect on my goals.

For the first time ever, I stopped and looked around at what I had and found that I was pretty over the moon with my life. I’m excited about the future but I’m so overwhelmingly happy with where I am.

It’s a feeling that I’ve never had before.

I’m grateful.

And in a world full of more, more, more, feeling like you have enough is a superpower.

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