Gratitude vs general positivity and appreciation via /r/gratitude

Hi,

I have recently started journaling and I'm trying to practice positivity and gratitude as well through it (my instincts are to be pessimistic and glass half empty kinda person and I want to change that) and I realized I'm not quite sure how to do gratitude.

I know that feeling grateful is a real thing…I feel grateful when someone helps me out for example…or if someone buys be a nice gift. So I know it exists as a distinct feeling that I'm capable of feeling. But I'm not sure how to pinpoint it when I'm just appreciating small things throughout the day.

Like I appreciate this beautiful morning or my morning coffee…this seems like appreciation, while it's a good thing to practice being aware of…it doesn't (seem to) invoke the same feeling as when I feel grateful for receiving help. I can SAY that "i'm grateful for this morning" but that's just changing up the sentence structure…no? I'm not sure I feel the distinction between just appreciating it vs directing gratitude towards something for it (god? nature?).

Any thoughts/tips?