5 Powerful Oprah Gratitude Quotes That Will Transform Your Life
Long before there were Instagram and YouTube influencers, there was Oprah. She reached multiple generations of people from every walk of life and helped us believe that we too could influence our own lives and make it a little bit better each day.
Oprah was also one of the very first people to talk about the power of gratitude and how to practice it every day to transform your life. As a licensed counselor who has spent years helping people build sustainable gratitude practices, I can tell you that her wisdom was foundational to everything I've learned about what actually works.
She was one of the main influences for me to start my own life-changing gratitude practice, and eventually led me to create Give Thanks: A Gratitude Journal and write The Gratitude Jar. Her teachings about consistency, focusing on abundance, and the transformative power of appreciation became core principles in my work with thousands of people seeking real change.
“I live in the space of thankfulness — and for that, I have been rewarded a million times over. I started out giving thanks for small things, and the more thankful I became, the more my bounty increased. That’s because — for sure — what you focus on expands. When you focus on the goodness in life, you create more of it.”
— Oprah Winfrey
5 Inspirational Oprah Gratitude Quotes
1.
“If you concentrate on what you have, you will always end up having more. If you focus on what you don’t have, you will never, ever have enough.”
— From her 2012 Lifeclass Series
2.
“Being grateful all the time isn’t easy. But it’s when you least feel thankful that you are most in need of what gratitude can give you: perspective. Gratitude can transform any situation. It alters your vibration, moving you from negative energy to positive. It’s the quickest, easiest most powerful way to effect change in your life — this I know for sure.”
— Excerpt from What I Know for Sure
This quote captures exactly what I discovered in my counseling work and personal practice. The 'quickest, easiest most powerful way to effect change' that Oprah mentions is precisely why I designed Give Thanks with daily prompts that guide you through this transformation. When gratitude becomes a consistent practice rather than an occasional thought, that's when you see the real change Oprah talks about.
3.
“The difference is, I’m back to journaling—electronically—and whenever there’s a grateful moment, I note it. I know for sure that appreciating whatever shows up for you in life changes your personal vibration. You radiate and generate more goodness for yourself when you’re aware of all you have and not focusing on your have-nots.”
— Excerpt from a personal essay from Oprah.com
This quote particularly resonates with me because it's exactly what I discovered in my own practice. In Give Thanks: A Gratitude Journal, I include prompts that help you notice and record those 'grateful moments' Oprah talks about. There's something powerful about writing down what you appreciate - it makes the practice stick in a way that just thinking about it doesn't.
4.
“The most fundamental lesson that you can take away from Super Soul Sunday is gratitude. Gratitude is its own energy field. When you acknowledge and are grateful for whatever you have, it allows more to be drawn to you and changes the way you experience life. Grace is transformative. The more grateful you are, the more grace mirrors the gratitude that you have.”
— Excerpt from The Wisdom of Sundays
5.
“Gratitude is the single greatest treasure I will take with me from this experience.”
— From the final episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show
How Oprah's Wisdom Shaped My Work
Oprah's approach to gratitude wasn't just inspirational - it was practical. She talked about daily practice, consistency, and focusing on what you have rather than what you lack. These principles became the foundation for both of my books.
The Gratitude Jar tells my personal story of how Oprah's teaching about "appreciating whatever shows up for you" literally saved our family when we had lost everything. Her wisdom about gratitude being transformative wasn't just theory for us - it was survival, and it worked.
Give Thanks: A Gratitude Journal takes Oprah's emphasis on daily gratitude journaling and provides the structure and prompts that make it sustainable. Like Oprah, I believe gratitude works best when it's specific, consistent, and written down.
What I love about Oprah's approach is that she doesn't present gratitude as toxic positivity - she acknowledges that "being grateful all the time isn't easy" but shows you how to do it anyway. That honest, practical approach is exactly what I try to bring to my work with people who want real transformation, not just pretty quotes.
Start Your Own Oprah-Inspired Gratitude Practice
If Oprah's wisdom resonates with you and you're ready to move beyond inspiration into actual practice, here's how to build the kind of consistent gratitude habit she talks about:
For Daily Structure: Oprah's emphasis on regular gratitude journaling is exactly what Give Thanks provides - guided prompts that keep your practice fresh and meaningful, even when you don't feel particularly grateful.
For Inspiration During Difficult Times: The Gratitude Jar shows how Oprah's teachings about focusing on "what you have" can work even when life feels impossible. My family's story proves that her wisdom creates real transformation when applied consistently.
For Understanding the 'Why': Both books explain the psychology and spirituality behind why Oprah's gratitude principles work so powerfully - not just what to do, but why it changes everything.
The beautiful thing about Oprah's approach is that it's both simple and profound. You don't need complicated techniques - just consistency and the right guidance to keep you going when motivation fades.
If you watch this 3-minute clip from Oprah about how gratitude journaling changed her life, you'll see exactly why I created practical tools to make this accessible for everyone. Oprah's transformation is beautiful, but what she's describing - that consistent, intentional practice - is something anyone can build with the right support and structure.
Watch Now: Oprah on the Power of Gratitude Journaling
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More inspiration for your gratitude practice:
10 beautiful gratitude quotes from famous authors - Wisdom from spiritual teachers and thought leaders
Original gratitude quotes from my books - Personal insights from years of practice and counseling work
How to start a gratitude journal - Step-by-step guide using proven methods
Ready to build a daily practice?
Here are 10 gratitude writing exercises - To help improve your mental health
5-minute gratitude meditation - Perfect companion to journaling practice
