Happiness Break: A Meditation for When Gratitude Feels Hard

Nov 27, 2025

Explore the complexities of gratitude when it feels out of reach. Learn to embrace and acknowledge hard emotions, like grief and anger, as part of the journey. Settle your body with breath and simply notice your current feelings without judgment. Shift your focus to neutral sensations to anchor yourself in the present. Lastly, discover one small thing to appreciate, whether it's a warm cup of coffee or the ability to just be. Remember, gratitude isn't about forcing positivity; it's about recognizing the now.

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INSIGHT

Long-Term Benefits Of Gratitude

Gratitude practice can reduce stress, improve sleep, and lower burnout over time.
Dacher Keltner emphasizes lasting benefits without forcing the feeling.

INSIGHT

Allowing Gratitude And Grief Together

It's okay if gratitude feels out of reach during hard times.
The practice invites openness to small appreciation while acknowledging pain.

ADVICE

Settle Into A Comfortable Posture

Get comfortable sitting upright or lying down and soften your gaze or close your eyes.
Take a deep breath in and a slow breath out to begin settling your body.

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When gratitude feels distant, gently notice what’s here now— creating space for both heaviness and small moments of appreciation.

How To Do This Practice:

Get Comfortable: Sit upright or lie down. Whatever feels most supportive. Then soften your gaze or close your eyes.
Take Three Slow Breaths: Let your body begin to settle. Feel the tension release a little more with each exhale.
Notice How You’re Feeling: Without changing anything, simply acknowledge what’s present—tiredness, frustration, numbness, ease—whatever it is.
Make Space for What’s Hard: Recognize that the world can feel heavy. It’s okay to hold grief, anger, or stress. You don't have to push it away.
Gently Notice the Present Moment: Shift your attention to something neutral: your breath, your feet on the floor, the air on your skin. Just observe.
Look for One Small Thing to Appreciate: Ask: Is there anything, however small, I can be thankful for right now? A warm cup of coffee, a slower breath, the fact that you showed up.

Today’s Happiness Break Guide:

DACHER KELTNER is the host of The Science of Happiness podcast and is a co-instructor of the Greater Good Science Center’s popular online course of the same name. He’s also a professor of psychology at the University of California, Berkeley.

Related Happiness Break episodes:

A Meditation on Original Love: https://tinyurl.com/5u298cv4
Loving Kindness Meditation: https://tinyurl.com/2kr4fjz5
Who Takes Care of You: https://tinyurl.com/5xmfkf73

Related Science of Happiness episodes:

Nine Steps to Forgiveness: https://tinyurl.com/vb7kk5ky

How to Show Up For Yourself: https://tinyurl.com/56ktb9xc

Who’s Always There for You: https://tinyurl.com/yt3ejj6w

We want to hear from you! Take our quick 5-minute survey to tell us what you love, what you want more of, and how we can make the show even more inspiring and useful. Everyone who completes the survey can enter a drawing to win a copy of The Science of Happiness Workbook: 10 Practices for a Meaningful Life. Click the survey link in the show notes wherever you’re listening, or go directly to: https://tinyurl.com/happyhappysurvey. Thank you for helping us make the podcast even better!

We’d love to hear about your experience with this practice! Share your thoughts at happinesspod@berkeley.edu or use the hashtag #happinesspod.

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Transcription: https://tinyurl.com/f6xa56mx