Gratitude at its core is about appreciation. It is about appreciation of what is valuable and meaningful to a person. A gratitude journal is used to write down what you are feeling grateful for in the moment, or throughout the day.
The journal can be a paper journal, a tablet, or a phone. I sometimes like to track what I’m feeling grateful for in the notes section of my phone or on post-it notes at my desk.
Writing down the grateful moments is important because it’s helpful to reflect on the good emotions at another time. Here are SEVEN other reasons to start your gratitude journal!
1. Remember a good event, experience, person, or moment in your life and the positive feelings that come with it.
2. An overall sense of well-being, attached to the memories or moments
3. Can help alleviate stress, which also helps to improve sleep health
4. Helps to improve the mood at either the start or end of the day
5. Decrease anxiety
6. Improve relationships with loved ones and coworkers by consciously honoring their presence in your life every day
7. Break up negative thinking patterns, replacing negative thoughts with positive ones.
If you are now you're wondering how to start the journaling process look no further! We have those tips for you too!
1. Be specific—Try not to be vague here, be grateful for the hot water in the shower this morning. Expanding on details about a particular person or thing for which you’re grateful helps more than a vague list of many things.
2. Let’s get personal – Take this moment to look at W H O in your life you are grateful for: a friend, a co-worker, a spouse.
3. See the good –Jot down the events or moments that you didn’t expect including the notes, or gifts from people. Gifts could also be the small things someone does for you, holding a door when your arms are full, surprising you with a coffee after a long day.
4. Write often. This is an important one. Try to write daily or every other day. Make it a habit to record your grateful moments.
There are many benefits to keeping a gratitude journal, but the most important one is that it can make you happier. No matter what your day looks like or how difficult things may seem, there’s always something good happening in your life if you look hard enough for it. And by writing down five things each night before bed, you'll notice yourself becoming more aware of all the great experiences and people in your life when they happen throughout the day. So go ahead and start using this simple process to help create happiness from within.
Until Next Time, Stay Motivated!
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