what is a gratitude journal?

In addition to practicing meditation with Headspace, I recently started a gratitude journal. Why? Because it’s not enough to decide to be grateful, we also have to actively practice and train (like everything else actually) to make sure that those simple daily acts of gratitude truly have an impact on health and happiness. The practice of gratitude journaling actually achieves just that, and it can only take a few minutes a day (or more if you feel inspired!)
 
What is a gratitude journal?
In essence, a gratitude journal is a tool to keep track of the good things in life, because no matter how difficult and defeating life can sometimes feels, there is always something to be grateful for. And in addition, regularly journaling the good things can help prepare and strengthen us to deal with the rougher patches when they do show up. 
 
To get started, we just write down the things we’re grateful for on a daily basis, for example:

• Got a new job? Journal it!
• Mastered a new weightlifting record? Journal it!
• Received good news about a potential finance problem? —journal it!

 
It basically is that easy. But we might be wondering, how does this practice do for us?
 
The benefits of a gratitude journal
There are good benefits of being grateful in general (I have discussed this here a few years ago) but here are a few benefits that people have noticed when practicing regular gratitude journaling:
 

• Journaling can give a new perspective on what is important to us and what we truly appreciate in your life;
• By writing down what we are grateful for, we gain clarity on what we want to have more of in our lives, and what we can do without
• Gratitude journaling can help find out and focus on what really matters to us
• On days when we feel blue, we can read through your gratitude journal to readjust our attitude and remember all the good things in our lives 
• It can make us more mindful, helping us to become more grounded and also making it easier to notice even more things we are grateful for
• Gratitude journaling can help us feel more balanced and less thrown off by daily stress

 
In addition, gratitude journaling can provide a sense of context and interconnectedness. It can remind us how things in life are connected to one another, and guide us to one of those rare moments in which we truly recognize that the world is so much bigger than us, yet we are grateful just to be a small part of it.
 
Ideas for items in a gratitude log
Of course, a gratitude journal is a personal endeavor that must be unique to us and our life, however If you’re stuck at the start, at least a few of these prompts should be able to kickstart your gratitude creativity:
 

• List five small ways that you can share your gratitude today
• Write about a person in your life that you’re especially grateful for and why
• What skills or abilities are you thankful to have?
• What is there about a challenge you’re experiencing right now that you can be thankful for?
• How is where you are in life today different than a year ago–and what positive changes are you thankful for?
• What activities and hobbies would you miss if you were unable to do them?
• List five body parts that you’re grateful for and why
• What about the city you live in are you grateful for?
• What are you taking for granted about your day to day that you can be thankful for?
• List 5 people in your life who are hard to get along with—and write down at least one quality for each that you are grateful for
• What materialistic items are you most grateful for?
• Write about the music you’re thankful to be able to listen to and why
• Who has done something this week to help you or make your life easier and how can you thank them?
• What foods or meals are you most thankful for?
• What elements of nature are you grateful for and why?
• What part of your morning routine are you most thankful for?
• Write a letter to someone who has positively impacted your life, however big or small
• What is something you’re grateful to have learned this week?
• When was the last time you laughed uncontrollably—relive the memory
• What aspects of your work environment are you thankful for?

 
In conclusion, if you feel thankful, write it down: it’s good for your health! There's a growing body of research on the benefits of gratitude, as studies have found that giving thanks and counting blessings can help us sleep better, lower stress and improve interpersonal relationships. It's one of the practices that really wins out from the field of positive psychology, because it takes very little time, and the benefits are so powerful.

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@philippemora > I come from the future.
I work and I workout. Always be kind and passionate. 
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