One miraculous thing that has powers to transform your life from hell to heaven is Gratitude. You may already be aware of the beauty this super powerful emotion adds to your life, but do you really know how Gratitude Journaling could further glorify your life in an unimaginable way.
If you, like millions others, have unawarely developed an attitude of dwelling on ‘what bad life is showing you’, then dude, now is the right time to fix that flaw.
You may not be even realizing how this thought pattern is eclipsing your life, and what wonders you can add by simply choosing Gratitude over Ingratitude.
In this post, I will show you why and how you can (and you must) install a habit of Gratitude Journaling.
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What is Gratitude?
I am sure you already know this.
Let me still give you a reminder.
Gratitude is a feeling of appreciation, and thankfulness. It happens when we choose to focus on what’s going good in our life. It’s indeed one of the most powerful emotions you experience.
Take a minute, and close your eyes.
Start with a few deep breaths.
Now think about just ONE THING you really feel good about. It could be your family or a family member, a friend you feel really close to, a child who instantly brings smile on your face, a job that is feeding you, an accomplishment you are really proud of or just anything.
How did you feel in that moment?
That awesome feeling is what we call Gratitude.
Why is it so difficult to stay Grateful?
We humans are hardwired to think and feel negatively.
No matter how much we do have, but we still want more.
This never ending hunger of more keeps us in a greedy mental frame where we keep focusing on what else can we chase.
As we can focus on only one thing at a time, we ignore to count joyous things by choosing to see what’s missing.
In fact, we don’t even do that deliberately. Thanks to our negative conditioning, it happens on autopilot.
So, if you want to break the pattern, you would need to consciously practice Gratitude in your everyday life situations.
Practicing Gratitude is insanely uplifting activity and can make miracles happen in your life.
Why Gratitude Journaling is good for you
How to Start?
Pick a Great Journal
Your first step to start Gratitude Journaling is choosing a Journal that inspires you.
You can write digitally or even on a piece of paper if you like, however, keeping a Gratitude Journal is a fantastic idea.
It may be simple or fancy – whichever suits your personality the best.
Being a minimalist, I always prefer simple things in life. You can choose whatever you like.
Setup a Writing Time
Some people want to journal whenever they like, but creating and sticking to your journaling schedule is what I always recommend.
Because it synchronizes your mind with this activity, and done consistently, you develop an incredible habit forever.
For me, it’s before bed time, and my journal is right there on my writing table, always in sight. So, I never happen to miss it.
If you have a few minutes available during your mornings, create a morning journaling ritual.
This will help you set the right tone for the day, and open your heart to see good aspects of your life.
As a result, you’re highly likely to stay in a positive mindset during the day, and consequently be much more productive at everything that you do.
Journaling Jar
If you’re someone who appreciates fun things, this is a really interesting idea to pick up.
Here, you get yourself a beautiful jar. You may decorate it the way you like it the most.
Watch this video to do it yourself.
Or you may even choose to buy one from Amazon.
Jot down beautiful things that you are grateful for, on small slips or index cards, and drop them in your gratitude jar.
Every day as you pause to appreciate little or big things in your life, just write your gratitude thought, and slip that in to your sweet jar.
I don’t even need to mention what amount of positivity this kind of jar holds.
And you can proudly get back to it in your low moments. This Gratitude Jar Journal would always remind you how astonishing your life is, and shift your sad energy to joy energy.
Sketchbook Journaling
If you are a creative type, and love to sketch instead of writing, this one is for you.
A sketchbook journal is a blank notebook that you can use to record lovely experiences, great memories, or anything that you appreciate and are grateful for.
You can make your own Sketchbook Journal, or you order one online.
Be Consistent
Whatever type of Journal you choose for yourself, the key idea is to be consistent with your Gratitude Practice.
Commit to your ritual, and come back to it every single day.
What I love most about setting up a daily ritual to write in the gratitude journal is that I keep looking for the great things to record during the day.
To me, it’s like a game. I want to score high each day.
It’s so much fun. Isn’t it?
In order to keep yourself motivated, you can make use of the journaling prompts.
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Journaling Prompts
Journaling prompts are meant to get you ideas of what to write about.
You may like to write freely whatever comes to your mind as I prefer to do, but as a beginner, consider following the journal prompts at least initially.
Here are some ideas to get you started:
Find your own unique ideas
As you start answering the prompts, you will start to get more ideas about what else you can write about in your gratitude practice.
The objective is to be more appreciative about things that happen to you.
It’s just about taking notice of great things which were always there, but may be, lost in your own negative world, you never paid attention to them.
But with Gratitude Journaling, as you gain more awareness of positive situations, negative things start to disappear.
I am not saying that they would immediately stop appearing entirely, but they will be less visible to you because of your focus on great things now.
Keep it Going
Being thankful pays huge dividends.
You would be able to understand its astonishing benefits once you make it a daily practice.
And you will never want to leave it, I bet.
I would love to hear from you.
Do you journal? What are your experiences with Gratitude Journaling?
Drop your comments below.
23 replies to "Gratitude Journaling: Everything you need to know"
The feeling of gratitude is really beautiful, especially when it is born from the heart it implies a deep connection with oneself and with the environment. And in that connection, in that uniqueness comes the non-separation, care, appreciation and love towards this life that gives us so much daily,
Yes, that’s absolutely it!!!
Awesome prompts.
This is a practice I have incorporated into my life and is definitely making a big impact.
Always grateful for any experience.
Thanks for the reminder 🙂
Thanks for your input Lydia 🙂
Great post! This is definitely something that I struggle with staying consistent with. I liked what you said about scheduling a designated time to journal. I have always been the type to think you need to journal when you feel it, and therefore haven’t been able to stick with it. I think that scheduling could really be a game changer. I really liked all the ideas you had for the jar and the different styles of journaling! Great ideas! Thanks for sharing this.
Thanks for your kind comment, Caylee.. Gratitude Journaling has been a big game changer for me. You can see visible results in just a few days.
So true gratitude is such a powerful emotion.
Absolutely. 🙂
Great tips to turn this into a solid habit. I found that a journal with inspiring quotes was good but one with too much structure and specific questions or prompts was too rigid. It’s good to shop around and try a few until one type sticks 🙂
You are right Rach. The whole point is that different things work for different people.
I am not a consistent journaler, but I have been trying to be more reflective and thankful for small things that happen each day. Journaling sounds like something that could be really helpful with that and these tips are so helpful.
I started a gratitude journal a few months back and have noticed a difference in my outlook and my ability to look at life with an attitude of gratitude. I will admit that even though it’s become a daily practice it can still be difficult some days. The prompts you provided will be helpful for those difficult days. I’ll be saving this post for later!
I love your idea of the Journaling Jar! I need to start this!
Being more grateful has been one of my New Year’s resolutions that’s gone a bit by the way side. I appreciate all of these tips for getting back on track. I love just writing three things I’m grateful for at the end of each day in my journal. It helps remind me, no matter how crazy my day was, there were amazing things that happened. I might have to try the Journaling Jar though. That might take my thoughts even further. Thanks so much!
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This practice has definitely changed my mindset and my mental health in so many ways! Love your suggestions here!
I loved your ideas. I have a gratitude journal with only one entree! Now I know how to start again!! I will take a deep breath and start over!!
Having a gratitude journal is such a great idea. Especially with all of the demands and different responsibilities we have in life, it’s so nice to stop and remind ourselves of what we are grateful for! I love your ideas!
A couple of years back, my friend purchased a tiny notebook (like pocket-size) for me to keep on my person and write down what I’m thankful for throughout the day. I was really diligent with it for probably three months, and then it fell by the wayside. I really need to get back to journaling what I’m grateful for. It’s so important to focus on those things – even the “minuscule” because it completely alters our view of the world, big-picture! Thanks for the reminder!
I always find gratitude journals to be so helpful, especially when I’m feeling down or notice that I’ve been crabby lately. That usually means I haven’t been taking a look at what I’m grateful for as much and it’s time to get back into it.
Love this idea so much! It’s a great way to bring positivity to your every day. You’ve provided a great list of starter questions as well. Cheers!
I love these ideas! I think gratitude journaling is such a great way to kickstart a path of positivity into our lives!
Kileen
cute & little
Thank you Kileen. Yes, It works wonders!!!
Trying myself to be and think more gratefully has completely turned my life around. I think back to who I was 6, 7, 8 years ago and I don’t even recognise myself. Past me would never believe that I would end up being as happy as I am now, but I am, and a large reason for that is because I started focusing on the GOOD. Simply taking note of the things that you make happy – and taking some time to write them down or say them aloud – can do wonders for your mind. I love seeing others spreading the word of gratitude and how much it can do for your life!