Originally published 2020-05-05.
The best-known quotes about gratitude come from an unusually wide range of voices: a Roman statesman, an English essayist, a French novelist, Charles Dickens, an American president, a country singer, the Dalai Lama and Oprah Winfrey. Together they make one simple point in ten different ways. Noticing what you already have changes how you feel about everything else.
Below are ten of the most shared gratitude quotes, with what we could confirm about where each one comes from, followed by what psychology research actually says about gratitude and some practical ways to turn a nice sentence into a habit.
Why gratitude quotes stick with us
Most of us spend a lot of energy on what comes next: the next goal, the next purchase, the next problem to solve. Ambition is useful, but it has a side effect. The good things already in our lives fade into the background because they are always there.
A well-made quote interrupts that habit for a moment. It is short enough to remember, and it usually reframes something ordinary so we see it again. That is why gratitude lines are among the most shared quotes online. The catch is that many of them are passed around with the wrong name attached, so a little checking is worthwhile before you put one on a card or a slide.
Ten gratitude quotes and where they come from
1. Cicero: the parent of all virtues
Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others.
– Marcus Tullius Cicero
This one is genuine. The Roman orator made the point in Pro Plancio, his speech of 54 BC defending his friend Gnaeus Plancius, who had protected Cicero during his exile. In the Latin, a grateful spirit is called the "mother" of all the other virtues. Cicero was arguing that a man who repays kindness can be trusted in everything else.
2. G. K. Chesterton: happiness doubled by wonder
The English writer is credited with saying that giving thanks is the highest kind of thinking, and that gratitude is happiness multiplied by a sense of wonder. The idea fits Chesterton perfectly; he wrote often about seeing ordinary things as if for the first time. We could not pin the wording to a specific book, so treat it as attributed.
3. Oprah Winfrey: focus on what you have
Oprah's version is practical: be thankful for what you have and you will find you have more, but if you keep looking at what is missing, it will never feel like enough. It is widely attributed to her, and she has promoted gratitude journaling on her show and in her magazine for decades. The wording circulates in several forms.
4. Alphonse Karr: roses and thorns
Some people grumble that roses have thorns; I am grateful that thorns have roses.
– Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr
Alphonse Karr (1808–1890) was a French journalist and novelist, also remembered for the saying that the more things change, the more they stay the same. He was a keen gardener who wrote about flowers, which makes this line a natural fit, and quotation collections credit it to him, though it is usually shared in translation with small variations.
5. Charles Dickens: present blessings
Dickens advised readers to think about the blessings they have now, which every person has in abundance, rather than past misfortunes, which everyone also has a few of. The line is usually traced to "A Christmas Dinner", one of his early pieces collected in Sketches by Boz (1836), where he urges people to fill their glasses at Christmas instead of dwelling on old sorrows.
6. Willie Nelson: counting blessings
The country singer is often quoted as saying that his whole life turned around once he started counting his blessings. It is attributed to him widely, though we found no original interview. It matches the cheerful philosophy he shares in his books and songs.
7. The Dalai Lama: want what you have
This quote turns a familiar phrase around: the route to stable happiness is learning to want what you already have, rather than chasing what you want. It is usually traced to The Art of Happiness (1998), the book the Dalai Lama wrote with American psychiatrist Howard Cutler, which spends a whole chapter on contentment.
8. Eckhart Tolle: the foundation of abundance
The spiritual author is credited with calling the recognition of the good already in your life the foundation of all abundance. It echoes the themes of The Power of Now and his later books, although the exact wording is hard to locate, so it is best treated as attributed.
9. William Arthur Ward: the unwrapped present
William Arthur Ward (1921–1994) was an American college administrator and newspaper columnist whose short maxims became staples of inspirational collections. This one compares feeling grateful without saying so to wrapping a present and never handing it over. It is consistently credited to him.
10. John F. Kennedy: live by your words
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
This comes from Kennedy's Thanksgiving Proclamation 3560, signed in early November 1963 and released on 5 November. Thanksgiving fell on 28 November that year, six days after his assassination in Dallas, which gives the line a weight he could not have intended.
What research says about gratitude
Psychologists have studied gratitude seriously since the early 2000s. In a well-known 2003 paper, "Counting blessings versus burdens", Robert Emmons and Michael McCullough asked people to keep short weekly lists of things they were grateful for, things that annoyed them, or neutral events. The gratitude groups tended to report a more positive outlook.
A 2005 study led by Martin Seligman compared several exercises. Writing and personally delivering a thank-you letter, the "gratitude visit", gave the biggest short-term lift in happiness, lasting about a month. Writing down three good things each day had a smaller start but longer-lasting effects, especially for people who kept it up on their own.
Two caveats are worth knowing. Effects in these studies are modest, not life-changing for everyone, and people who are naturally grateful tend to benefit most. Gratitude exercises are also not a treatment for depression or anxiety; if low mood is persistent, talk to a doctor.
How to turn a quote into a practice
A quote works best as a starting point. A few simple ways to use the ten above:
- Make it specific. After reading Dickens or Willie Nelson, write down three concrete things from the past day, such as a friend's message or a meal, rather than general categories like "family".
- Think of a person. Research suggests gratitude feels strongest when it is about someone. Pick one person who helped you and recall exactly what they did.
- Say it out loud. Ward's unwrapped present is a good nudge: send a short thank-you note, or try a gratitude letter and read it to the person.
- Act on it. Kennedy's line suggests showing thanks through what you do, by passing kindness on or returning a favour.
- Look for the rose. On a hard day, Karr's line invites you to find one good thing inside a frustrating situation, without pretending the thorns are not there.
Common myths about gratitude
Myth: being grateful means you should not want more. Feeling thankful and wanting change can sit side by side. Someone can appreciate a supportive family and still push for a fairer wage or a better home.
Myth: gratitude guarantees abundance. Some quotes, Oprah's and Tolle's among them, are often read as promises that thankfulness attracts wealth. The research supports something smaller and more believable: gratitude tends to improve mood and relationships, which can make life feel richer. It does not change your bank balance by itself.
Myth: you must feel grateful all the time. Forced positivity can make people feel worse. Grief, anger and disappointment are normal, and gratitude works better as an occasional, honest practice than as a rule.
Myth: every famous quote is real. As this list shows, only some of the most popular lines can be traced to a speech or book. When accuracy matters, use "attributed to" for the rest.
Sources: Wikipedia: Gratitude (Cicero, Emmons and McCullough 2003, Seligman 2005); The American Presidency Project: Proclamation 3560, Thanksgiving Day 1963.
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