Reading gratitude or thankful quotes regularly can energize you and prompt you into leading a life of gratitude.
There are many profound and life-changing benefits to being grateful—here are 124 of the best-known thankful quotes to inspire you.
127 Beautiful thankful quotes
Wear gratitude like a cloak and it will feed every corner of your life. – Rumi
If you fail to carry around with you a heart of gratitude for the love you’ve been so freely given, it is easy for you not to love others as you should. – Paul David Tripp
If you count all your assets, you always show a profit. – Robert Quillen
Thank you for life, and all the little ups and downs that make it worth living. – Travis Barker
The soul that gives thanks can find comfort in everything; the soul that complains can find comfort in nothing. – Hannah Whitall Smith
Things must be felt with the heart. – Helen Keller
Gratitude is a powerful catalyst for happiness. It’s the spark that lights a fire of joy in your soul. — Amy Collette
Train yourself never to put off the word or action for the expression of gratitude. – Albert Schweitzer
Entitlement is such a cancer, because it is void of gratitude. – Adam Smith
The heart that gives thanks is a happy one, for we cannot feel thankful and unhappy at the same time. – Douglas Wood
Gratitude opens our eyes to miracles that surround us. Life’s a miracle and a gift. Take every breath in gratitude. — D. Denise Dianaty
We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorns have roses. — Alphonse Karr
When I started counting my blessings, my whole life turned around. – Willie Nelson
He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has. – Epictetus
When you arise in the morning give thanks for the food and for the joy of living. If you see no reason for giving thanks, the fault lies only in yourself. – Tecumseh
I do believe that God blessed me in life with a wonderful family, a successful career, and a loving marriage, and remain thankful for that blessing. – Bonnie Tyler
Gratitude looks to the Past and love to the Present; fear, avarice, lust, and ambition look ahead. – C.S. Lewis
Dwell on the beauty of life. Watch the stars, and see yourself running with them. – Marcus Aurelius
When you are grateful, fear disappears and abundance appears. — Anthony Robbins
The unthankful heart discovers no mercies; but the thankful heart will find, in every hour, some heavenly blessings. – Henry Ward Beecher
If the only prayer you said was thank you, that would be enough. – Meister Eckhart
O Lord that lends me life, lend me a heart replete with thankfulness. – William Shakespeare
The highest tribute to the dead is not grief but gratitude. – Thornton Wilder
Rest and be thankful. – William Wordsworth
‘Enough’ is a feast. – Buddhist Proverb
The roots of all goodness lie in the soil of appreciation for goodness. – Dalai Lama

No one is as capable of gratitude as one who has emerged from the kingdom of night. – Elie Wiesel
Many times, the decisions we make affect and hurt your closest friends and family the most. I have a lot of regrets in that regard. But God has forgiven me, which I am very thankful for. It has enabled me to forgive myself and move forward one day at a time. – Lex Luger
If you want to find happiness, find gratitude. – Steve Maraboli
There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle. — Albert Einstein
Gratitude and attitude are not challenges; they are choices. – Robert Braathe
Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow. – Melody Beattie
It is not joy that makes us grateful; it is gratitude that makes us joyful. — Brother David Steindl-Rast
Find the good and praise it. – Alex Haley
No blessing lasts forever. – Plautus
I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought; and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder. – G.K. Chesterton
The thankful receiver bears a plentiful harvest. – William Blake
When it comes to life the critical thing is whether you take things for granted or take them with gratitude. – G.K. Chesterton
It’s not possible to experience constant euphoria, but if you’re grateful, you can find happiness in everything. — Pharrell Williams
I lie in bed at night, after ending my prayers with the words ‘Ich danke dir für all das Gute und Liebe und Schöne.’ (Thank you, God, for all that is good and dear and beautiful.) – Anne Frank
To speak gratitude is courteous and pleasant, to enact gratitude is generous and noble, but to live gratitude is to touch Heaven. – Johannes A. Gaertner
The smallest act of kindness is worth than the grandest intention. – Oscar Wilde
You don’t get blessed, and feel blessed. You have to first feel blessed, then the blessings come to you. – Roman Price
Three meals plus bedtime make four sure blessings a day. – Mason Cooley
An attitude of gratitude brings great things. – Yogi Bhajan
When you practice gratefulness, there is a sense of respect toward others. – Dalai Lama
We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures. — Thornton Wilder
We have to fill our hearts with gratitude. Gratitude makes everything that we have more than enough. — Susan L. Taylor
Be true to yourself, help others, make each day your masterpiece, make friendship a fine art, drink deeply from good books – especially the Bible, build a shelter against a rainy day, give thanks for your blessings and pray for guidance every day. – John Wooden
I am even thankful for the negative things that have made me a stronger and better person. – Joanna Krupa
Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things. – Robert Brault
Live a life full of humility, gratitude, intellectual curiosity, and never stop learning. – GZA
Every blessing ignored becomes a curse. – Paulo Coelho
Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues but the parent of all others. – Marcus Tellius Cicero
Appreciation can make a day, even change a life. Your willingness to put it into words is all that is necessary. – Margaret Cousins
True forgiveness is when you can say, ‘Thank you for the experience.’ – Oprah
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 meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. – Melody Beattie
As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them. – John F. Kennedy
We must find time to stop and thank the people who make a difference in our lives. – John F. Kennedy
I’m still thanking all the stars, one by one. – Marissa Meyer
May the gratitude in my heart kiss all the universe. – Hafiz
I am thankful the most important key in history was invented. It’s not the key to your house, your car, your boat, your safety deposit box, your bike lock or your private community. It’s the key to order, sanity, and peace of mind. The key is ‘Delete.’ – Elayne Boosler
Thank you – is the best prayer that anyone could say. I say that one a lot. Thank you expresses extreme gratitude, humility, and understanding. – Alice Walker
Among the things you can give and still keep are your word, a smile, and a grateful heart. – Zig Ziglar
When we focus on our gratitude, the tide of disappointment goes out and the tide of love rushes in. – Kristin Armstrong
Joy is a heart full and a mind purified by gratitude. – Marietta McCarty
Be grateful for what you already have while you pursue your goals. If you aren’t grateful for what you already have, what makes you think you would be happy with more. — Roy T. Bennett
Piglet noticed that even though he had a Very Small Heart, it could hold a rather large amount of Gratitude. – A.A. Milne
You say grace before meals. All right. But I say grace before the concert and the opera, and grace before the play and pantomime, and grace before I open a book, and grace before sketching, painting, swimming, fencing, boxing, walking, playing, dancing and grace before I dip the pen in the ink. – G. K. Chesterton
Cultivate the habit of being grateful for every good thing that comes to you, and to give thanks continuously. And because all things have contributed to your advancement, you should include all things in your gratitude. – Ralph Waldo Emerson
Whatever you appreciate and give thanks for will increase in your life. — Sanaya Roman
God gave you a gift of 86,400 seconds today. Have you used one to say thank you? — William Arthur Ward
In ordinary life, we hardly realize that we receive a great deal more than we give, and that it is only with gratitude that life becomes rich. – Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Appreciation is the purest vibration that exists on the planet today. – Abraham Hicks
It’s a funny thing about life, once you begin to take note of the things you are grateful for, you begin to lose sight of the things that you lack. – Germany Kent
My expectations were reduced to zero when I was 21. Everything since then has been a bonus. – Stephen Hawking
When eating fruit, remember the one who planted the tree. – Vietnamese Proverb
Gratitude turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos into order, confusion into clarity…it makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow. – Melody Beattie
If you are really thankful, what do you do? You share. – W. Clement Stone
Ingratitude is treason to mankind. – James Thomson
Let us be grateful to the people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom. — Marcel Proust
I think gratitude is a big thing. It puts you in a place where you’re humble. – Andra Day
Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for. — Epicurus
Thankfulness is the quickest path to joy. – Jefferson Bethke
Got no checkbooks, got no banks, still I’d like to express my thanks. I got the sun in the morning and the moon at night. – Irving Berlin
We learned about gratitude and humility – that so many people had a hand in our success. – Michelle Obama
Gratitude is when memory is stored in the heart and not in the mind. — Lionel Hampton
Gratitude changes the pangs of memory into a tranquil joy. – Dietrich Bonhoeffer
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
Make it a habit to tell people thank you. To express your appreciation, sincerely and without the expectation of anything in return. Truly appreciate those around you, and you’ll soon find many others around you. Truly appreciate life, and you’ll find that you have more of it. – Ralph Marston
There’s no happier person than a truly thankful, content person. – Joyce Meyer
Hope has a good memory, gratitude a bad one. – Baltasar Gracian
What separates privilege from entitlement is gratitude. – Brené Brown
Gratitude opens the door to the power, the wisdom, the creativity of the universe. You open the door through gratitude. — Deepak Chopra
I was complaining that I had no shoes till I met a man who had no feet. — Confucius
Give thanks for a little and you will find a lot. – Hansa Proverb
Be thankful for everything that happens in your life; it’s all an experience. — Roy T. Bennett
I’m thankful for every moment. – Al Green
Appreciation is a wonderful thing. It makes what is excellent in others belong to us as well. – Voltaire
There’s no disaster that can’t become a blessing, and no blessing that can’t become a disaster. – Richard Bach
Gratitude is riches. Complain is poverty. – Doris Day
When I pray, I always thank Mother Nature for all the beauty in the world. It’s about having an attitude of gratitude. – Miranda Kerr
Gratitude is the most exquisite form of courtesy. – Jacques Maritain
Gratitude bestows reverence…changing forever how we experience life and the world. – John Milton
Not what we say about our blessings, but how we use them, is the true measure of our thanksgiving. – W.T. Purkiser
I am happy because I’m grateful. I choose to be grateful. That gratitude allows me to be happy. – Will Arnett
To say thank you, is in recognition of humanity. — Toni Mont
So much has been given to me; I have no time to ponder over that which has been denied. – Helen Keller
Joy is the simplest form of gratitude. – Karl Barth
This is a wonderful day I have never seen this one before. – Maya Angelou
Gratitude is the sign of noble souls. – Aesop
The more grateful I am, the more beauty I see. — Mary Davis
Be thankful for what you have; you’ll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don’t have, you will never, ever have enough. – Oprah Winfrey
Let gratitude be the pillow upon which you kneel to say your nightly prayer. And let faith be the bridge you build to overcome evil and welcome good. – Maya Angelou
I awoke this morning with devout thanksgiving for my friends, the old and the new. – Ralph Waldo Emerson
Gratitude can transform common days into thanksgivings, turn routine jobs into joy, and change ordinary opportunities into blessings. – William Arthur Ward
If you have lived, take thankfully the past. – John Dryden
If you don’t appreciate what you have, you may as well not have it. – Rosalene Glickman
Giving is an expression of gratitude for our blessings. – Laura Arrillaga-Andreessen
Gratitude is the ability to experience life as a gift. It liberates us from the prison of self-preoccupation. – John Ortberg
Always have an attitude of gratitude. – Sterling K. Brown
No duty is more urgent than giving thanks. – James Allen
Expressing gratitude is a natural state of being and reminds us that we are all connected. – Valerie Elster
For my part, I am almost contented just now, and very thankful. Gratitude is a divine emotion: it fills the heart, but not to bursting; it warms it, but not to fever. – Charlotte Brontë
Everything we do should be a result of our gratitude for what God has done for us. – Lauryn Hill
Reflect upon your present blessings, of which every man has plenty; not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some. – Charles Dickens
Gratitude goes beyond the ‘mine’ and ‘thine’ and claims the truth that all of life is a pure gift. – Henri J.M. Nouwen