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The Best Thank You Quotes &
Gratitude Quotes

"Just a 'thank you' is a mighty powerful prayer. Says it all."
Rosie Cash (b. 1955), American singer, songwriter & author, and daughter of country music icon Johnny Cash
Here is a selection of the best thank you quotes & sayings and gratitude quotes – the thought-provoking and the encouraging, the heartfelt and the inspiring. A mixed bag of the very best!


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The Best Thank You Quotes


Joy is the simplest form of gratitude.
Karl Barth (1886-1968), Swiss theologian


Gratitude is a quality similar to electricity: it must be produced and discharged and used up in order to exist at all.
William Faulkner (1897-1962), American writer and Nobel laureate


It is impossible to feel grateful and depressed in the same moment.
Attributed to Naomi Williams (1979-2009), American photographer and cancer fighter


None is more impoverished than the one who has no gratitude. Gratitude is a currency that we can mint for ourselves, and spend without fear of bankruptcy.
Fred De Witt Van Amburgh (1866-1944), American publisher & writer


When you are grateful fear disappears and abundance appears.
Anthony Robbins (b. 1960), American self-help author and motivational speaker


Every time we remember to say "thank you", we experience nothing less than heaven on earth.
Sarah Ban Breathnach, American writer on self-help and spirituality


If you have lived, take thankfully the past.
John Dryden (1631-1700), English peot & playwright


Reverence, humility, contentment, gratitude and hearing the good Dharma, this is the best good luck.
The Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama (~5th century BC), founder of Buddhism


The essence of all beautiful art, all great art, is gratitude.
Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900), German philosopher


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 (1813-1887), American priest & social reformer


When you are grateful fear disappears and abundance appears. – Quote by Anthony Robbins (b. 1960), American self-help author and motivational speaker


More of the best thank you quotations


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 (1906-1945), German priest & theologian


Let us be grateful to people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.
Marcel Proust (1871-1922), French novelist


We often take for granted the very things that most deserve our gratitude.
Cynthia Ozick (b. 1928), American writer


Gratitude is riches. Complaint is poverty.
Doris Day (b. 1923), American actress & singer


Gratitude helps us to return to our natural state of joyfulness, where we notice what's right instead of what's wrong. It makes us feel complete, that we have everything we need, at least in this moment.
M.J. Ryan, American change expert & author. From: Attitudes of Gratitude


Gratitude is the sign of noble souls.
Aesop (7th/6th century BC), ancient Greek writer of fables


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 (b. 1954), American talk-show host, actress & business woman


Virtue begins when we dedicate ourselves actively to the job of gratitude.
Ruth Benedict (1887-1948), American anthropologist


Gratitude is one of the least articulate of the emotions, especially when it is deep.
Felix Frankfurter (1882-1965), American Supreme Court Justice


Happiness is in itself a kind of gratitude.
Joseph Wood Krutch (1893-1970), American environmentalist & writer


Gratitude is the most exquisite form of courtesy.
Jacques Maritain (1882-1973), French philosopher and diplomat


Gratitude helps you to grow and expand; gratitude brings joy and laughter into your life and into the lives of all those around you.
Eileen Caddy (1917-2006), Irish/English author, spiritual teacher and one of the founders of the Findhorn Community


The greatest gain is to give to others; the greatest loss is to greedily receive without gratitude.
The Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama (~5th century BC), founder of Buddhism


For me, every hour is grace. And I feel gratitude in my heart each time I can meet someone and look at his or her smile.
Elie Wiesel (b. 1928), Jewish-American writer, academic, activist, Nobel laureate & Holocaust survivor


Gratitude preserves old friendships, and procures new.
Author unknown


Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.
Melody Beattie (b. 1948), American self-help author


Nothing is more honorable than a grateful heart.
Seneca (~4 BC-65 AD), Roman philosopher, statesman & dramatist


There is not a more pleasing exercise of the mind than gratitude. It is accompanied with such an inward satisfaction that the duty is sufficiently rewarded by the performance.
Joseph Addison (1672-1719), English writer, poet & politician


I live in the space of thankfulness – and I have been rewarded a million times over for it. I started out giving thanks for small things, and the more thankful I became, the more my bounty increased. That's because 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 (b. 1954), American talk-show host, actress & business woman


Gratitude is a vaccine, an antitoxin, and an antiseptic.
John Henry Jowett (1864-1923), English preacher


When you arise in the morning, give thanks for the morning light, for your life and strength. Give thanks for your food, and the joy of living. If you see no reason for giving thanks, the fault lies with yourself.
Tecumseh (1768-1813), Native American leader of the Shawnee people


If we meet someone who owes us thanks, we right away remember that. But how often do we meet someone to whom we owe thanks without remembering that?
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832), German writer, philosopher & scientist


Saying thank you is more than good manners. It is good spirituality.
Attributed to Alfred Painter


Gratitude bestows reverence, allowing us to encounter everyday epiphanies, those transcendent moments of awe that change forever how we experience life and the world.
John Milton (1608-1674), English poet & writer


Gratitude is looking on the brighter side of the life, even if it means hurting your eyes.
Ellen DeGeneres (b. 1958), comedian, talk-show host & actress


Be thankful for the least gift, so shalt thou be meant to receive greater.
Thomas à Kempis (1380-1471), Catholic monk & writer


Gratitude will... keep you in close harmony with creative thought and prevent you from falling into competitive thought. (It) will keep you from... the error of thinking that the supply of riches is limited – and to think that would be fatal to your hopes.
Wallace Wattles (1860-1911), American author


My day begins with gratitude and joy. I look forward with enthusiasm to the adventures of the day, knowing that in my life, All is good.
Louise L. Hay (b. 1926), American self-help author. From: You Can Heal Your Life


Gratitude is the fairest blossom which springs from the soul.
Henry Ward Beecher (1813-1887), American priest & social reformer


Gratitude is a duty which ought to be paid, but which none have a right to expect.
Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778), French philosopher & writer


When it comes to life the critical thing is whether you take things for granted or take them with gratitude.
G.K. Chesterton (1874-1936), English writer & journalist


Gratitude is a fruit of great cultivation; you do not find it among gross people.
Samuel Johnson (1709-1784), English author & compiler of A Dictionary of the English Language


It isn't what you have in your pocket that makes you thankful, but what you have in your heart.
Author unknown


You simply will not be the same person two months from now after consciously giving thanks each day for the abundance that exists in your life. And you will have set in motion an ancient spiritual law: the more you have and are grateful for, the more will be given you.
Sarah Ban Breathnach, American writer on self-help and spirituality


We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures.
Thornton Wilder (1897-1975), American playwright and novelist


Wake at dawn with a winged heart and give thanks for another day of loving.
Kahlil Gibran (1883-1931), Lebanese-American writer, poet & artist


As each day comes to us refreshed and anew, so does my gratitude renew itself daily. The breaking of the sun over the horizon is my grateful heart dawning upon a blessed world.
Attributed to Adabella Radici


Blessed are those who can give without remembering, and take without forgetting.
Elizabeth Asquith Bibesco (1897-1945), English writer & poet


There is a calmness to a life lived in gratitude, a quiet joy.
Ralph H. Blum, American writer & runic expert


Gratitude and wonder are two of the most empowering and healing perspectives.
Jonathan H. Ellerby, spiritual teacher & author. From: Inspiration Deficit Disorder


Gratitude is a mark of a noble soul and a refined character. We like to be around those who are grateful. They tend to brighten all around them. They make others feel better about themselves.
Joseph B. Wirthlin (1917-2008), American Elder of the Mormon Church


It is a sign of mediocrity when you demonstrate gratitude with moderation.
Roberto Benigni (b. 1952), Italian actor & director


Gratitude is born in hearts that take time to count up past mercies.
Charles E. Jefferson (1860-1937), American preacher


I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought, and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder.
G.K. Chesterton (1874-1936), English writer & journalist


To the generous mind the heaviest debt is that of gratitude, when it is not in our power to repay it.
Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790), American statesman, politician, author, scientist and inventor, and one of the founding fathers of the United States


It is the will to be grateful which constitutes gratitude.
Joseph F. Cook (1838-1901), American philosophical lecturer


Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more.
Melody Beattie (b. 1948), American self-help author


Happiness cannot be traveled to, owned, earned, worn or consumed. Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace, and gratitude.
Denis Waitley (b. 1933), American author & motivational speaker


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 (1875-1965), German/French doctor, theologian, philosopher & Nobel Peace Prize laureate


Gratitude, like faith, is a muscle. The more you use it, the stronger it grows, and the more power you have to use it on your behalf.
Alan Cohen, American motivational author & speaker, best known for his book series Chicken Soup for the Soul. From: A Deep Breath of Life


One of the hardest acts of gratitude is to graciously accept a gift, to believe in the goodness of the person who gave it to us, and to believe in ourselves enough to receive it.
Therese J. Borchard, American self-help author


To speak gratitude is courteous and pleasant, to enact gratitude is generous and noble, but to live gratitude is to touch Heaven.
Johannes A. Gaertner (1912-1996), German art historian & educationalist


If you concentrate on finding whatever is good in every situation, you will discover that your life will suddenly be filled with gratitude, a feeling that nurtures the soul.
Rabbi Harold Kushner (b. 1935), American rabbi & author