What is the Difference between Thankfulness and Gratitude?
Life can be difficult sometimes, causing us to lose faith in ourselves or in others. However, it can make a world of difference for us and our attitude when someone goes out of their way to be kind to us. Whether this is a friend or family member taking the time to visit with us and listen, or a stranger in front of us in a drive-thru line who pays for our order. As others are kind to us, that leads us to be thankful…or grateful. What is the difference between gratitude and thankfulness? We are Murk Resource and today we would like to discuss the importance of and difference between thankfulness and gratitude.
Thankful vs. Grateful: What’s the Difference?
Many people use these two phrases interchangeably, not realizing there is a difference between them. The main difference is pretty simple. Thankful means to feel relieved or pleased, while grateful means to show thanks for something someone has done for you. Simply put, thankfulness is a feeling while gratitude is an action.
How Thankfulness Relates to Gratitude
While it is good to be thankful, it is a much more temporary feeling than gratitude. Thankfulness lasts for a moment, such as being thankful when a loved one makes you dinner. You are both thankful for their kindness as well as for the food itself. However, once you have eaten the meal and cleared the table, this particular feeling of thankfulness will fade. Gratitude is more than just a feeling, it is a mindset and is more permanent. If you are truly grateful for the fact that the person who made you this meal is in your life, you will do more than simply thank them for making the meal, but that is a good start. Thankfulness is a small part of the bigger picture of gratitude. If you are grateful for someone, you won’t simply say “thank you”, you will show them every day that you are grateful through your actions. Taking care of them when they’re sick, surprising them with a gift, listening to them when they need to vent, making them laugh. Gratitude is a way of being and can be shown through words, actions, and our attitude towards something or someone.
Why is it Important to be Grateful?
It is no bad thing to be grateful for the people and experiences in our lives. According to research done by Berkeley University, more grateful people tend to sleep better and feel healthier. Choosing to live with gratitude allows us to improve our relationship with ourselves, with other people, and even with the world at large. A highly recommended and popular practice is to keep a gratitude journal where you spend about 15 minutes each day writing down five or more things that you are grateful for. Doing this on a daily basis helps you to practice being grateful so that it becomes a part of your daily life and your state of being. Being thankful is a feeling, but being grateful is a choice, and one you should choose to make.
Contact Us for Helping Living with Gratitude
Murk Resource is thankful for every opportunity that we get to work with and help people to improve their lives. If you are ready to incorporate gratitude into your daily life, then please feel free to send us a message and we can get started! You can also give us a call at (847) 662-8044. We look forward to working with you and helping you to live with thankfulness and gratitude!
