Tips on Keeping a Gratitude Journal

“Happiness does not lead to gratitude. Gratitude leads to happiness.”
— Benedictine monk David Steindl-Rast

 

It’s almost time for Thanksgiving – a time when we remember to be grateful for all of our blessings.  Last summer, I started keeping a gratitude journal to help me remember to be grateful all year long. I’d read that keeping a journal like this helped increase happiness and contentment and wanted to see for myself if this was true.

I started off strong, religiously writing 5 things every morning that I was grateful for.  But, like everything else, life got in the way and sometimes I would wake up late, or just plain forget.  I still am writing in the journal, but it’s not every day. Some weeks I have a few days entries, others only one.  Still, I do believe that it has helped me, if not be happier, to focus more on the good things in my life.

 

Here are some tips I learned by keeping a gratitude journal:

• Find a regular time that works for you.  When I first started, I wrote in the evenings so I could reflect on the good that happened in the day.  But I get so tired at night, I would sometimes just skip it. I found for me, I was much more successful remembering to write first thing in the morning. Think about what time of day is best for you and keep it consistent.  It helps to build the habit.
• Everything counts!  Hear a song on the radio that you love?  See a beautiful sunset? Hear from a friend you haven’t seen in a while?  Everything that you experience is an opportunity to feel gratitude. Write it down!  
• Be specific.  For example, I wouldn’t write, “I am grateful for my husband.”  Instead, I wrote, “I am grateful that my husband brought me coffee in bed today.”  My thinking was that this would help me to really examine my life for the good things that were happening, and not just take the easy way out writing the same things over and over.  
• Elaborate on your list.  How did it make you feel? Where were you?  Why did it stand out for you? Talking more about the items on your list helps you remember it more vividly and brings back the good feeling.
• Don’t just write in your journal.  Read your journal, too!  It makes you realize that good things happen all the time.  This helped me reframe my mindset on days when it was hard to find things to write about.

 

The thing that I noticed most about keeping a gratitude journal is that it made me look for the good things in my life.  Every day, I knew I had to find 5 things to write about, so it kept me searching for the good. Where before, nice things would happen and I would just dismiss it, I found that I focused on these times as possible journal entries.  It made me realize that there really is a lot in my life to be grateful for.

 

Keeping a spirit of thanksgiving is a good practice all year long- not just in November!  Hope you find some time to document all the good things in your life. It can change your thinking!  

Let me know if you start a gratitude journal in the comments below.  I would love to hear how it’s going for you!

 

That’s all for now.  Until next time, happy reading!

 

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