75 Inspiring Quotes on Gratitude by Famous Personalities (2024)

Learning how to express gratitude regularly can truly transform your personal relationships, your work, and your personal life. But it isn’t always easy to live life with a grateful heart. That’s why we’ve put together this list of 75 quotes on gratitude by famous personalities!

Gratitude makes it is easier to form stronger and more authentic relationships as well as appreciate the things in life that you do have instead of always longing for what you don’t. This leads to greater life satisfaction and an overall higher sense of wellbeing.

75 of the Best Gratitude Quotes by Famous Personalities

There are plenty of people throughout history who have expressed deep and profound thoughts on gratitude. One of the best ways to develop a grateful heart is by reading quotes about gratitude! Each of these powerful quotes has a unique way of helping you understand why gratitude is such a powerful force in our lives.

1. “When we learn to give thanks, we are learning to concentrate not on the bad things, but on the good things in our lives.” – Amy Vanderbilt
2. “Sometimes you have to experience the bad, so that you can learn to appreciate the good things that enter your life.” – Leon Brown
3. “Nothing is more honorable than a grateful heart.” – Lucius Annaeus Seneca
4. “A grateful heart is a beginning of greatness. It is an expression of humility. It is a foundation for the development of such virtues as prayer, faith, courage, contentment, happiness, love, and well-being.” – James E. Faust
5. “Start each day with a positive thought and a grateful heart.” – Roy T. Bennett
6. “We must find time to stop and thank the people who make a difference in our lives.” – John F. Kennedy
7. “Focusing on one thing that you are grateful for increases the energy of gratitude and rises the joy inside yourself,” – Oprah Winfrey
8. “Let gratitude be the pillow upon which you kneel to say your nightly prayer.” – Maya Angelou
9. “Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.” – Melody Beattie
10. “Let us be grateful to people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.” – Marcel Proust
11. “No one is useless in this world who lightens the burdens of another.” – Charles Dickens
12. “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
13. “Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.” – William Arthur Ward

14. “Gratitude can transform common days into thanksgiving, turn routine jobs into joy and change ordinary opportunities into blessings.” – William Arthur Ward
15. “When you have the courage to consistently express gratitude for everything you already have, the Universe will gift you, even more, to be grateful for.” – Clyde Lee Dennis
16. “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
17. “The more you recognize and express gratitude for the things you have, the more things you will have to express gratitude for.” – Zig Ziglar
18. “I truly believe we can either see the connections, celebrate them, and express gratitude for our blessings, or we can see life as a string of coincidences that have no meaning or connection. For me, I’m going to believe in miracles, celebrate life, rejoice in the views of eternity, and hope my choices will create a positive ripple effect in the lives of others. This is my choice.” – Mike Ericksen
19. “This is a wonderful day. I’ve never seen this one before.” – Maya Angelou
20. “If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is thank you, it will be enough.” – Meister Eckhart
21. “I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought, and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder.” – Gilbert C. Chesterton
22. “I awoke this morning with devout thanksgiving for my friends, the old and the new.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
23. “Reflect upon your present blessings, of which every man has plenty; not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some.” – Charles Dickens
24. “I think the best way to show appreciation for things going well is to make things better.” – David Droga
25. “The best way to appreciate life is to be grateful.” – Wisdom Kwashie Mensah
26. “Develop an attitude of gratitude, and give thanks for everything that happens to you, knowing that every step forward is a step toward achieving something bigger and better than your current situation.” – Brian Tracy
27. “Always have an attitude of gratitude.” – Sterling K. Brown
28. ‘”Of all the attitudes we can acquire, surely the attitude of gratitude is the most important and by far the most life-changing.” – Zig Ziglar
29. “What you focus on expands, and when you focus on the goodness in your life, you create more of it. Opportunities, relationships, even money flowed my way when I learned to be grateful no matter what happened in my life.” – Oprah Winfrey
30. “An attitude of gratitude creates blessings.” – Sir John Templeton
31. “Piglet noticed that even though he had a very small heart, it could hold a rather large amount of Gratitude.” – A.A. Milne
32. “Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things.” – Robert Brault
33. “The greatest thing is to give thanks for everything. He who has learned this knows what it means to live. He has penetrated the whole mystery of life: giving thanks for everything.” – Albert Schweitzer
34. “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
35. “Let us rise up and be thankful, for if we didn’t learn a lot today, at least we learned a little, and if we didn’t learn a little, at least we didn’t get sick, and if we got sick, at least we didn’t die; so, let us all be thankful.” – Buddha
36. “When I started counting my blessings, my whole life turned around.” – Willie Nelson
37. “Imitate until you emulate; match and surpass those who launched you. It’s the highest form of thankfulness.” – Mark Victor Hansen
38. “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
39. “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
40. “As with all commandments, gratitude is a description of a successful mode of living. The thankful heart opens our eyes to a multitude of blessings that continually surround us.” – James E. Faust
41. “The unthankful heart discovers no mercies; but let the thankful heart sweep through the day and, as the magnet finds the iron, so it will find, in every hour, some heavenly blessings.” – Henry Ward Beecher
42. “Silent gratitude isn’t very much to anyone.” – Gertrude Stein
43. “A grateful mind is a great mind which eventually attracts to itself great things.” – Plato

44. “It is through gratitude for the present moment that the spiritual dimension of life opens up.” – Eckhart Tolle
45. “Gratitude is a currency that we can mint for ourselves, and spend without fear of bankruptcy.” – Fred De Witt Van Amburgh
46. “Thankfulness is the beginning of gratitude. Gratitude is the completion of thankfulness. Thankfulness may consist merely of words. Gratitude is shown in acts.” – Henri Frederic Amiel
47. “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
48. “Forget yesterday – it has already forgotten you. Don’t sweat tomorrow – you haven’t even met. Instead, open your eyes and your heart to a truly precious gift – today.” – Steve Maraboli
49. “I’ve had a remarkable life. I seem to be in such good places at the right time. You know, if you were to ask me to sum my life up in one word, gratitude.” – Dietrich Bonhoeffer
50. “The hardest arithmetic to master is that which enables us to count our blessings.” – Eric Hoffer
51. “I can no other unusual sensation make but thanks, and thanks, and ever thanks.” – William Shakespeare
52. “I feel a very unusual sensation—if it is not indigestion, I think it must be gratitude.” – Benjamin Disraeli
53. “The deepest craving of human nature is the need to be appreciated.” – William James
54. “A genuine smile touches something fundamental in us: our natural appreciation of kindness.” – Dalai Lama
55. “Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues but the parent of all others.” – Marcus Tullius Cicero
56. “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
57. “In life, one has a choice to take one of two paths: to wait for some special day, or to celebrate each special day.” – Rasheed Ogunlaru
58. “If a fellow isn’t thankful for what he’s got, he isn’t likely to be thankful for what he’s going to get.” – Frank A. Clark
59. “Gratitude is a powerful catalyst for happiness. It’s the spark that lights a fire of joy in your soul.” – Amy Collette
60. “Maybe being grateful means recognizing what you have for what it is. Appreciating small victories. Admiring the struggle it takes to simply be human…At the end of the day, the fact that we have the courage to still be standing is reason enough to celebrate.” – Meredith Grey
61. “Gratefulness is the key to a happy life that we hold in our hands, because if we are not grateful, then no matter how much we have we will not be happy – because we will always want to have something else or something more.” – David Steindl-Rast
62. “Thank you is the best prayer that anyone could say. I say that one a lot. Thank you expresses extreme gratitude, humility, understanding.” – Alice Walker
63. “The essence of all beautiful art is gratitude.” – Friedrich Nietzsche
64. “He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has.” – Epictetus
65. “In our daily lives, we must see that it is not happiness that makes us grateful, but the gratefulness that makes us happy.” – Albert Clarke
66. “Saying thank you is more than good manners, it is good spirituality.” – Alfred Painter
67. “The roots of all goodness lie in the soil of appreciation for goodness.” – Dalai Lama
68. “It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge.” – Albert Einstein
69. “When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive, to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love.” – Marcus Aurelius
70. “Gratitude is the healthiest of all human emotions. The more you express gratitude for what you have, the more likely you will have even more to express gratitude for.” – Zig Ziglar
71. “The world has enough beautiful mountains and meadows, spectacular skies and serene lakes. It has enough lush forests, flowered fields and sandy beaches. It has plenty of stars and the promise of a new sunrise and sunset every day. What the world needs more of is people to appreciate and enjoy it.” – Michael Josephson
72. “No one who achieves success does so without the help of others. The wise and confident acknowledge this help with gratitude.” – Alfred North Whitehead
73. “The real gift of gratitude is that the more grateful you are, the more present you become.” – Robert Holden
74. “Appreciation is a wonderful thing. It makes what is excellent in others belong to us as well.” – Voltaire
75. “I looked around and thought about my life. I felt grateful. I noticed every detail. That is the key to time travel. You can only move if you are actually in the moment. You have to be where you are to get where you need to go.” – Amy Poehler

Using Grateful Quotes in Your Life

There are so many ways that you can use grateful quotes to make a positive change in your life. My favorite thing to do as soon as I wake up is read a powerful quote from this list and then write my thoughts in my gratitude journal. This helps me focus my compass on grateful thoughts to start my day!

One critical thing that you need to consider when using quotes on gratitude is that they are most powerful when they are meaningful to you. Choose a handful of quotes that help you express gratitude for the little things in your own life.

If focusing on gratitude isn’t something that comes easily to you, check out our list of 50 powerful gratitude list ideas that everyone can relate to. Combining the ideas from that post with the quotes on this list will help you make gratitude a permanent habit!

Looking for more inspiration? Check out our list of gratitude affirmations!

Don’t forget to share this post with your friends and family on social media! If you know someone who could use a dose of gratitude in their lives, this could be just the post that they need!