7 Easy Gratitude Exercises That Make Even the Most Pessimistic People Happier

Identify 3 things that you appreciate about yourself.

Pick things that are meaningful. These can involve your personality, your qualities, your actions, or anything else directly related to yourself.

Identify 3 things that you feel grateful for about your present--right now--experience.

Be in the here-and-now. Right now, what can you appreciate about your experience? Think about the environment, the time you're taking for your own wellbeing, the chair under your legs, anything that relates to the now.

... that had a significant and positive influence on your life.

These can be coaches, mentors, professors, bosses, family members, or anyone else. Call those people to mind and think about how they made a difference in your life.

Create a thank you message to those 3 individuals.

A great way to feel appreciative is to think about sending a thank you letter. You can write and send one if you want, or simply construct one that you would imagine sending to these people. Connect to that appreciation while thinking through your message.

Identify the 1 thing that you are most appreciative of and feel it in your heart.

Allow that warmth, love, appreciation, and gratitude to wash over you.