The benefits of gratitude are endless, but starting a gratitude practice is often easier said than done. It feels uncomfortable at first and you truly have to change your frame of mind in order to see all the things in your daily life that you should be grateful for. Getting started can feel overwhelming and building a habit can take time. One of my favorite ways to practice gratitude is using a gratitude journal. Use these tips on how to start a gratitude journal to help get you started and stick to your gratitude practice!
WHAT IS GRATITUDE?
To put it simply, gratitude is feeling thankful for all the positive things in our lives. It seems like a simple thing, but it is something that many of us overlook.
When we focus on the bad, we neglect to say thanks for all the things that are actually good. This is when our attitude can change to ungrateful and negative – not ideal.
Actively practicing gratitude we can focus our attention on these positive things that we might otherwise overlook. This can have life changing benefits!
1. GRATITUDE BREAKS THE CYCLE OF NEGATIVITY
Forcing yourself to look at the positive in life can break the cycle of negativity. It’s easy to get sucked into downward spirals, particularly if you're like me often struggle with anxiety.
One of the best benefits of gratitude is that it forces us to actively focus on the good. This positive thinking can have significant effects on our mood and general outlook on life.
2. GRATITUDE = MINDFULNESS
The active “searching” for the positive in our day forces us to be mindful. Instead of going through life on auto-pilot and letting our subconscious dictate what we focus on, we take back control and become much more mindful of things to be thankful for in life.
3. A GRATITUDE PRACTICE ENCOURAGES SELF-REFLECTION
Again, it’s easy just to go through life without ever questioning our thought processes. A gratitude practice can really promote self-awareness and reflection.
When we practice gratitude, we can identify the things in our lives that we might be taking for granted or overlooking. We can become aware of our negative thought patterns and identify areas of growth.
4. A REGULAR PRACTICE PROMOTES SELF-DISCIPLINE
It’s all too easy to pick up bad habits and not commit to good ones. But really committing to a gratitude practice is a beneficial way to hold us accountable and keep us in check.
HOW TO START A GRATITUDE JOURNAL
1. PICK YOUR PREFERRED METHOD OF JOURNALING
There is no right or wrong method here. Whether you want to buy a premade gratitude journal or use a gratitude app, find what works best for you.
Premade gratitude journals
Premade gratitude journals have the advantage of having everything already laid out for you in a template. I find journals like this SO helpful because they can help to reduce overwhelm and give you a clear structure to follow.
My favorite is the Hollis Co gratitude journal that can be found here: https://starttoday.com/
Write in a notepad
You don’t NEED a premade template, and you might even prefer to set up your own template in a notepad that works for you. Or, if you prefer simplicity, you can simply write the things you’re grateful for on the page and call it done. You’re still practicing gratitude! Now that I have done a few months of continued gratitude practice I just write in my planner. I like knowing I have it with me all day everyday!
2. SET ASIDE TIME EACH DAY TO PRACTICE GRATITUDE
So you’ve picked your journal. Now it’s time to dedicate time to gratitude journaling. Creating a new habit is HARD. But there are ways you can make it easier.
For example, anchoring your gratitude practice to something that is already a regular part of your day can help to solidify the habit. You might choose to journal over breakfast, before you meditate or while the kids have their afternoon nap. Whatever works best for you! For me I have my notebook next to my bed, so as soon as I wake up I do my 10 things I'm grateful for and the 10 dreams I am going to make happen. When you start your day with the itention set it's much easier to see all of the good around you and push yourself towards your goals because they are at the forefront of your thought.
3. START SMALL
The key to creating a consistent habit is to start small. Don’t overwhelm yourself by making yourself commit to writing 30 things you’re grateful for each day… it’s just unrealistic.
Start by writing down one thing each day. As time goes on you might notice that you can notice more positive things in your life. Over time, you can increase to 3 things to be grateful for a day. But you don’t need to commit to any more than that, unless you really want to.
4. SAVE A LIST OF GRATITUDE JOURNAL PROMPTS
Like I said before, thinking of things to be thankful for can be very difficult when we’ve been stuck in negative thinking for so long. This is where gratitude journal prompts come in.
Having prompts can make it that much easier to start a gratitude journal. They can help you identify the things in your life to be grateful for that you might otherwise overlook. I will be posting some inspiration for you this week too :)
5. STOP OVERTHINKING
When we first start practicing gratitude, it may seem silly and unnatural. That’s because we’re not used to it. But stop overthinking! It will get easier.
6. STAY CONSISTENT
Now comes the hard part… staying consistent.
The key here is to stop making excuses! Of course in some circumstances we can let ourselves off, but little excuses like “I’m too tired” won’t cut it!
You can afford to take 5 minutes out of your day to gratitude journal. You owe it to yourself!
Here's a super simple outline of how I do my writing each day-
10 things I'm grateful for...
10 dreams I made happen... (LONG TERM BIG goals)
Today, I will...
(simple phrase)
be present
challenge myself
I would love to see how you are choosing to embrace the things you are grateful for!
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