3 Simple Ways to Find Gratitude in Tough Moments

Ever find yourself juggling tough projects or caring for others while your own energy dips?

In this episode, discover three practical gratitude habits you can use to find steadiness and clarity - no matter what your day brings.

This week on Practicing Connection, Jessica and Coral move past “feel-good” gratitude to share three real-world practices for professionals dealing with high stress, teamwork struggles, or just a long task list. 

Whether you lead teams, support families, or show up for your community, these simple daily habits help you spot what’s sustaining you, even when appreciation feels out of reach. 

With flexible options for busy days and tough moods, you’ll learn how these gentle gratitudes can boost resilience, spark hope, and steady you through the hardest times at work and beyond.

Further links and resources from this episode:

• Practicing Connection episode: "Fuel your Day with Savoring: The 'Catching Joy' Practice"
• Join our LinkedIn group: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/12879756/ 
• Send us a message: practicingconnection@oneop.org 

Transcript

JESSICA BECKENDORF: [00:00:00] Hi, and thanks for listening to the Practicing Connection podcast. I'm Jessica.

CORAL OWEN: And I'm Coral.

JESSICA BECKENDORF: And today we're talking about gratitude, not as a buzzword or a holiday theme, but as a real practice. One that can be complicated when life is stressful or uncertain.

CORAL OWEN: That's a really good point, Jessica. Gratitude. I feel like it's often talked about like it should come so easily, in those hard moments though. And I just think it's important to acknowledge that a lot of people are navigating some really difficult spaces right now. Gratitude can feel really far away and when we're struggling, like just being told, “Oh, just, just be grateful.” It can sound very -

JESSICA BECKENDORF: - A daily gratitude practice.

CORAL OWEN: Oh yeah. Just start, start in your journal. Although I'm sure it always comes from a well-intentioned space, it can feel really dismissive.

JESSICA BECKENDORF: Yeah, yeah. Exactly. So before we go any further, let's ground this in a simple definition: [00:01:00] gratitude is the practice of recognizing and appreciating what helps us. What sustains us even when things aren't easy.

CORAL OWEN: Precisely, and again, this is not about pretending everything is sunshine, rainbows, and roses all the time. It's making room to notice what's still good, what's steady, and what's life giving alongside what is also so difficult. It's kind of like both gratitude and struggle can coexist.

JESSICA BECKENDORF: So I noticed that you brought three different gratitude practices today in our notes, instead of just one. Why three?

CORAL OWEN: Yeah, so this is the party pack of practices, today. But, you know, in all seriousness, there is no one size fits all way to practice gratitude. Some days we just have the bandwidth for reflection. Other days we're just trying to make it through. So instead of offering just one structured approach, we figured sharing three practices that meet y'all, our listeners, wherever you are. 

Whether it's a quick [00:02:00] pause, a simple reflection, or a way to study yourself when things feel a little bit overwhelming, you can just pick and choose what is serving you in the moment that you're at.

JESSICA BECKENDORF: Yeah, that is such a great way to frame it, like giving people options instead of an expectation, and that I think that you and I have talked about this, I have trouble with gratitude practice. And I think that's been hard 'cause it feels like sometimes it feels like a task. 

Sometimes it feels like, when you're given the advice to start a daily gratitude practice, I don't know, it just feels like an expectation, somehow.

CORAL OWEN: Or like another thing on your to-do list. And I think really, you know, what the hope is here with the practices that we're sharing today, Jess, is not that this - it should not feel contrived or forced. Just finding something, just something in whatever practice you may opt to try, that feels a little bit more fluid and a little bit more aligned with where you're at.

And so our three practices, we've got the noticing practice, the one line journal and the [00:03:00] grounding gratitude check-in for you. And I'm excited to unpack all three of these. They build from small moments of awareness into a deeper sense of presence. And you can use them individually, or you can rotate through them depending on what you need that day.

We're just all about giving y'all tools that you can leverage, and pick from your toolkit if you will. Whatever meets you in the moment.

JESSICA BECKENDORF: Well, let's get started with these practices. Coral, can you share the first one with us?

CORAL OWEN: The noticing practice: so this one is, I think, the most simplistic and it's usually where I start, and recommend starting when gratitude feels just a little out of reach. And so at some point in your day, all you need to do is pause for a moment and look for one, it can be even a neutral thing or a pleasant thing happening right now.

Maybe your coffee tastes good. That was mine this morning. Maybe the sun feels warm or, you know, just kind of nice and sunshiny through the window. Maybe the song on the radio is hitting just right and has a good vibe. You don't have to force a feeling. It definitely does not need [00:04:00] to be profound.

Just the act of noticing what's around you is enough.

JESSICA BECKENDORF: Yeah. And you know, this is really similar to an episode we did recently on savoring. And so if you wanna go deeper with this one, I recommend finding that episode on savoring. We'll put the link in our show notes. I think that this is a really refreshing take also on gratitude, right? It's not about chasing a sense of gratitude, but it's about being open to what's already there.

CORAL OWEN: Exactly, and the hope is over time, noticing will help shift your focus from what's missing to rather include what's present around you and the things that are quietly supporting you. Even if they're small and seemingly very minute.

JESSICA BECKENDORF: Awesome. I love this practice. Let's move on to the next one, the one line journal. So tell us a little bit about this one.

CORAL OWEN: So the second practice is called the One Line Journal, as you already noted. And again, it's very short and approachable, we [00:05:00] hope, and it's just one sentence a day. You can start with the phrase, “Today I noticed,” or, “Today I appreciated.” 

A couple examples: “I noticed how calm it felt driving home without traffic,” or, “I appreciate that my neighbor waved when I walked by.” And again, these don't need to be big, monumental things. They can be just these small moments that are happening throughout your day. And the one sentence helps make that act of noticing more tangible. And over time you may start to see patterns, small moments that help you feel grounded or connected without even realizing it at the time.

JESSICA BECKENDORF: I love that this builds awareness slowly. It's not about big gratitude lists or journaling every detail. It's just one little honest line.

CORAL OWEN: Exactly, and it doesn't have to come from inside you, right? It can be things that are happening external to you as well. And I think sometimes if we're having a tough time finding just that [00:06:00] kind of neutral or, you know, somewhat positive connection point in the small day-to-day around us, it can help bring that vibrance back.

And it's really about consistency more than volume. Here, the goal is not to collect all the happy moments, right? But to recognize the ordinary ones that get us through the day-to-day, that make life feel a little bit more manageable.

JESSICA BECKENDORF: Oh, I love that. Okay, now let's dig into the third one, the grounding gratitude check-in.

CORAL OWEN: Yeah, this is one of my favorites, truly. And this third practice is for those days when gratitude just feels impossible. And it's also a little bit of a sensory, grounding technique. And so, you know, if you have spaces where you're feeling anxious, overwhelmed, or just not in that head space, this is one that I would encourage you to turn to. 

All you need to do is take a slow, steady breath anytime that you feel like you need to leverage this. And we've got three checkpoints: One thing you can see. You're naming one thing you can see. Secondly, [00:07:00] one thing you can touch. And thirdly, one person, place or thing that helps you feel supported. 

And this brings you back to your body instead of your thoughts, and it can help your nervous system to calm down a bit. So you can reconnect with that sense of presence.

JESSICA BECKENDORF: I love this one. This is an incredibly grounding activity. I remember, a long time ago, my friend in a workshop that she and I both taught together, she would have people kind of rub their thumb and their forefinger together, or one of the fingers on their hand, and have them feel like the ridges of their fingerprint, and just really ground them there. 

And I ended up buying her, and I got myself one too, I ended up buying her this stone that is intentionally meant for you to like - has like a thumbprint in it. And yeah, it's intentionally meant for you to kind of rub your thumb on and get connected to a sensory, you know, I guess a sensory moment. So I really appreciate this practice [00:08:00] because it's not about thinking your way into gratitude, it's about finding it through grounding and awareness. 

I think I've also seen this in like a one thing. You can see two things. You can touch three things. I've seen something similar to this, but I love how simple this one is.

CORAL OWEN: Totally. And sometimes the most real form of gratitude, especially when times are challenging, is simply noticing that you're here and you're breathing and you are not alone. And sometimes that is simply enough.

JESSICA BECKENDORF: Well that is a beautiful practice. Thank you so much for sharing. I'm really glad you shared three. I think I gave you some crap at the beginning of this, but I'm really glad you shared three.

CORAL OWEN: Thanks so much. I really did enjoy pulling these together for today's episode, Jessica. So thanks so much for walking through these with me.

JESSICA BECKENDORF: Well, as we wrap up today, maybe take a moment wherever you are to pause and notice one thing that brings a bit of steadiness or relief. [00:09:00] You don't have to call it gratitude, but you might find that's what it is.

CORAL OWEN: Yeah. And just to reiterate, gratitude - it doesn't erase what is hard, right? But it can soften the edges of when things do feel challenging. And it's one way to remind ourselves that even in difficult seasons, there is something that is still holding us.

JESSICA BECKENDORF: Well, thanks so much for this conversation on finding gratitude in tough moments, Coral.

If this resonated with you, our listeners, share it with someone who might need that reminder today.

CORAL OWEN: And we will be back soon with another episode. Until then, keep practicing. [00:10:00]

CREDITS: The Practicing Connection Podcast is a production of One-Op and is supported by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, US Department of Agriculture and the Office of Military Family Readiness Policy, US Department of Defense under award number 2 0 2 3 4 8 7 74 3 3.