This week on #bufferchat, our community had a wonderful discussion on practicing gratitude, from how to start to how it can change our lives for the better.
Read on to discover all of the awesome insights shared during the chat!
Catch our weekly Twitter chat, #bufferchat, at TWO times every Wednesday for valuable industry insights and to meet hundreds of other smart marketers and social media enthusiasts. Same topic, same place, just at different times – feel free to join in to whichever chat time works best for you!
4 pm AEDT (Sydney time)
9 am PT (San Francisco time)

This week’s stats:
Bufferchat #1 (4 pm AEDT): 19 participants; reach of 953,566
Bufferchat #2 (9 am PT): 61 participants; reach of 1,043,021
Q1: How does practicing gratitude impact your daily life?
From the community:
A1. It forces you to focus on the positives, which improves the mood and creates healthy perspectives on life which becomes a habit and then your life improves forever!!!! #bufferchat pic.twitter.com/loaLdRJRNs
— Tricia Timney (@TriciaTimney) November 22, 2017
A1: Gratitude ? is intimately linked to positivity. It lightens our load and gives us the gift ? of a more generous compassionate spirit. We focus on others more instead of us. #bufferchat
— Jeremy Murphy (@jeremypmurphy) November 22, 2017
A1: practicing gratitude helps me step back from my day-to-day and reflect on the good things happening in my life even when I’m struggling. Puts thing in perspective – helps me clarify what I’m doing, my goals and my WHY. #bufferchat
— Ambriss (@ambriss_) November 22, 2017
A1. It stops you from looking at the bad bits about life. It helps you realize that you’re not alone, which is why you need to keep those who’re with you closer than ever. You also end up helping others more often. #bufferchat
— Varun Bhargava (@thesolothinker) November 22, 2017
See all the great answers to question 1 here!
Q2: When is expressing gratitude a difficult practice for you?
From the community:
A2: I don’t like to recycle my gratitude so finding new things daily is hard. Sometimes I’m just happy there’s toilet roll #bufferchat
— Warwick Brown (@warwickabrown) November 22, 2017
A2. It’s hard to express gratitude when I am not in the habit of being thankful! When I stop looking for the positives I stop seeing them. #bufferchat
— Tricia Timney (@TriciaTimney) November 22, 2017
A2: When you’ve worked really hard and put a lot of time into something, then it fails. These are great learning experiences but in the moment it is hard to express gratitude! #bufferchat
— Vida Creative (@vidacreativeUK) November 22, 2017
A2: it’s hardest when things aren’t going well, a bad day, a life changing event, etc, and seeing things going well for other people. Which social media rubs in ? When that happens, I unplug and focus on self care. #bufferchat
— Lauren Blake (@_lblake) November 22, 2017
See all the great answers to question 2 here!
Q3: Do you have any advice for starting a gratitude practice?
From the community:
A3: Try to start daily rituals of gratitude. Give it 5 minutes and make it routine. It should come natural after awhile #bufferchat
— Benny Gelbendorf (@BGelbendorf) November 22, 2017
A3.
Be intentional.
Make a commitment and stick to it.
Practice gratitude as you’re in transit,
or when you’re grocery shopping,
or when you’re showering#bufferchat pic.twitter.com/QQdiMKyDbf
— Tori Dunlap | Marketer, Entrepreneur, Blogger (@victori_media) November 22, 2017
A3 Yeah- keep your phone off (or on airplane mode) overnight and think of things you’re grateful for *before* you turn it on or leave your room. That way you’ll start with positive thoughts before any questionable stimuli can seep onto your radar! #bufferchat
— The Budget Backpack (@TheBdgtBckpck) November 22, 2017
A3: Find a reason to complement and say thank you to everyone:
– Coffee☕️ barista
– A friend ?
– Uber ? driver
– The janitor in the building?
#BufferChat
— Raul Rovira ❄️ (@RaulARovira) November 22, 2017
See all the great answers to question 3 here!
Q4: Who inspires you to practice or think about gratitude in new ways? (or which books/blogs?)
From the community:
A4: @tinybuddha has always been therapeutic for me, reminding me of things I value in my life. Other than that, it’s mostly about being mindful and keeping myself in check regularly. “Am I being the person I want to be?”, “Am I happy with my actions?”, etc. #bufferchat https://t.co/MQ1YhQdpeT
— Kristeen ‘Kran’ Romero ? (@KristeenOnline) November 22, 2017
A4. I learn the best lessons from life itself. Apart from that there are blogs too: https://t.co/4CWUDASnCw I love the stories on 365 Grateful! #bufferchat
— Digital Polo (@digitalpolocom) November 22, 2017
A4: Recently finished “15 Things to Give Up If You Want To Be Happy” https://t.co/jBqWLKPHyi so inspirational, changed my outlook #bufferchat
— Warwick Brown (@warwickabrown) November 22, 2017
A4: my parents. They sacrificed so much to give our family the life we live. My dad escaped the Khmer Rouge, my mom’s family escaped from the communist regime in Vietnam risking their lives to give their children a better life ❤️ #bufferchat
— Kathy Hong (@kayyhong) November 22, 2017
See all the great answers to question 4 here!
Q5: What challenging experience has ended up changing your life for the better?
From the community:
A5: Deciding to go freelance full-time for a bit. As any freelancer knows, it’s a grind. Knowing I can do it gives me confidence in each new opportunity I take. #bufferchat
— Courtney Hartmann (@mscourtneybeth) November 22, 2017
A5: Battling anxiety. It forced me to have to focus even more on the good, rather than the bad. “What’s the BEST that could happen?” rather than calculating for the worst. It also made me work harder to face fears, which has been an incredible growth experience. #bufferchat
— Anna Reel (@thereelanna) November 22, 2017
A5 Coming out to my peers in high school. There was an abundance of support from people who I thought would shame me. It was eye-opening to see a real-life example of “don’t judge a book by its cover” and made me thankful for the community I grew up in #bufferchat
— Ross Walker Smith (@RossWalkerSmith) November 22, 2017
A5. At one point, after a break in my career, when I didn’t get a job, I felt like a failure. Thanks to my family, I broke out of that web to explore new options. Best thing ever. Today, I love what I do, achieving my dream of donating to charities #bufferchat Lifechanging!
— Vidya Sury (@vidyasury) November 22, 2017
See all the great answers to question 5 here!
Q6: In this moment, what’s something you may take for granted that you are truly grateful for? How will you express that? ?
From the community:
A6:
The easiness of some of my friendships!
We’re all scattered around the country and no matter how much time passes we always pick right back up where we left off.
They are some really special folks!#bufferchat pic.twitter.com/TkVVYAAiLG
— Meghan Hakey? (@MegAHakey) November 22, 2017
A6: I still take my health for granted. But every once in awhile I start working out and getting in shape. I try to encourage my friends(@aakriti623 ) to do the same. It helps me realize the importance of my own wellbeing so that I can take care of others. #bufferchat
— Sanchit Raina (@sanchit_raina) November 22, 2017
A6 marriage; when you are vulnerable, your spouse protects/ helps you; when your spouse is unwell, you care for her/ him … no one/nothing else is more important #BufferChat SLR?? pic.twitter.com/yXRQn7yIUd
— SirLeprechaunRabbit®?? (@leprchaunrabbit) November 22, 2017
A6 With all the turmoil and controversies near and far, I’m grateful to have just about made it through another year. #bufferchat
— Jim Katzaman $ #LifeInsurance $ Worker #Benefits (@JKatzaman) November 22, 2017
See all the great answers to question 6 here!
Thank you so much to our awesome community for sharing such great insights in this chat!
Do you have any comments or answers to these questions? Leave your thoughts in the comments! We’d love to hear from you!
Image sources: UnSplash