What is Gratitude Journaling? 8 Justifications for Beginning Gratitude Journaling
What is gratitude journaling? A gratitude diary is regularly noting and thinking about three things for which one is thankful. You’re training your brain to see the good in life more often and be more resilient when bad things happen.
In positive psychology, which is the study of happiness from a scientific perspective, keeping a gratitude notebook is a common practice. You might hear it called “three good things” or “counting your blessings” as well.
What is Gratitude Journaling?
Even though keeping a gratitude diary has been around for a while, there’s a good reason why everyone from the Dalai Lama to Oprah has praised it. Even if it only takes 15 seconds a day to master, it will help you live a better, happier, and more satisfied life.
How about this for evidence: study after study has shown a strong correlation between gratitude practice and subjective well-being.
Writing by Alkozei, Smith, and Killgore. Two proposed causal frameworks on the relationship between gratitude and subjective well-being.
It may be second nature for certain people to sit on a blank page and write from the depths of their spirit. Some people, including me, need help getting our thoughts on paper. However, the “rules” for a thankfulness diary are relatively straightforward.
Even if you don’t have time to reflect on your blessings in life, just writing a “happy note” about something that made you smile that day can profoundly impact your health and happiness.
Another option is to write down three things you’re grateful for before bed or first thing in the morning.
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Gratitude Journaling Benefits
Whether you’re a seasoned writer, have dabbled in your notebook occasionally, or are just looking for anything to help lift your spirits in these challenging times, these eight compelling reasons supported by experts should be enough to get you started on a thankfulness diary today.
1. Maximise Joy in Your Life
If you want to improve your mental state, all it takes is a daily dosage of self-love. If you’re ever feeling down or like nothing is going your way, keeping a thankfulness notebook can be a great pick-me-up, says best-selling author Domonique Bertolucci of The Happiness Code.
Appreciating even the smallest daily joys can profoundly affect one’s health, whether battling quarantine or just getting back to their regularly scheduled programming. Counting one’s blessings is associated with greater happiness and reduced depression, according to several studies, she explains.
2. Practice More Mindfulness
Expressing and documenting appreciation helps shift your perspective from what you lack to what you have. This triggers the secretion of the feel-good neurotransmitters dopamine and serotonin, which alleviates depressive and anxious sensations.
“It changes your perspective from scarcity to plenty, and it helps you be more in the here and now as you start to appreciate the little things in life,” adds Bertolucci. Regularizing a thankfulness notebook is like exercising: it strengthens your neural pathways, increasing your strength and endurance.
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3. Shift Your Viewpoint Delightful Notes.
You can quickly shift your outlook on the day by writing down one thing you are thankful for. Write positive statements to boost your mood. Adds Maria Pia del Castillo, a professional psychologist. “It shifts your focus from potential bad things to good things that have already happened,” Bertolucci chimes in.
4. Reminisce About Joyful Times
According to Sanam Hafeez, a neuropsychologist located in New York City and a member of Byrdie’s Beauty and Wellness Board, “Recalling happy memories triggers endorphins and emotions as if reliving the experience. This little lift of joy can do wonders for our spirits and reconnect us with the good things in life.”
5. Choose Wisely
According to del Castillo, recording happy ideas instead of negative ones boosts mood, influences decision-making, and enhances everyday happiness. Your subconscious may also drive your decision to eat better, get in that at-home workout, or even call granny.
Bertolucci says that keeping a notebook daily might help you be more focused and present because it enables you to notice the little delights in life. When you prioritize happiness in your brain, your mental, bodily, and emotional well-being all work to keep you feeling good.
6. Strengthen Your Resistance
Write in your gratitude diary first thing in the morning. It will put you in a good mood and help you with the highs and lows of the day, says Bertolucci. “Having a clear understanding of what is good about your life helps you cope much better when things go wrong.
” This goes a long way, especially now, when we’re venturing into unexplored terrain and confronted with everyday uncertainties that might quickly derail our happiness meter.
7. Decrease Anxiety
“Taking a moment to pause and write in your gratitude journal can help alleviate stress by bringing you into a more compassionate state of mind,” Bertolucci added.
Journaling is a great way to “free up” your right brain, which is responsible for creativity, vision, intuition, and other intuitive abilities, while engaging your left brain, which is responsible for reasoning and analytics, in a productive way, according to research.
08 of 08 Sleep Sounder Research has consistently shown that being grateful improves both the quality and length of sleep.4 Keeping a thankfulness notebook has a soothing effect that works wonders in the hours before bed because of its calming nature.
It’s also an excellent excuse to write a positive note to yourself in your gratitude journal and keep it on your nightstand.
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8. Advice on Maintaining a Gratitude Notebook
Isn’t gratitude just a basic idea? A few things likely come to mind immediately: loved ones, social circle, physical well-being, etc. Three is a breeze!
Take pleasure in the details—the particulars give your thankfulness diary its character and the delightful surprises it contains. Amy brought iced tea and scones this afternoon.” writing “amazing friends” might not capture the whole range of emotions.
Do not include your significant other’s name in your journal entry more than once; sure, they are fantastic, but that’s enough. Throw in different parts of your life, including relationships, health, and work, and see what happens.
By doing so, thankfulness journaling can be kept “fresh”, and its usefulness can be extended.3. Mention specific individuals and locations—Similar to avoiding repetition, mentioning particular persons and places will keep your postings from appearing old. You’ll also find out who influences your happiness and how it manifests.
Everybody has terrible days when nothing goes their way; there’s no need to worry about the bad ones. It might be beneficial to write down basic things you’re grateful for on bad days, like “my mom” or “tacos at lunch,” and to put the negative thoughts in your journal.
Test your “writer” muscles; make your postings entertaining! Use more evocative language, attempt to paint a picture of the fall air’s flavor, and delve into aspects you ordinarily wouldn’t. There are few places to put pen to paper, and if you do, your private journal is the perfect place.
Consistently write in a thankfulness diary before you go to sleep. This is one of many suggested practices. Try setting a reminder or combining it with another habit (like brushing your teeth or meditating) to be more consistent.
Not every day will be full of surprises, but thinking about the good ones might help you appreciate the good times more and not get bored with the same old things.
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Delving Further: Inspirational Ideas and Suggestions for Gratitude Journals.
To establish a regular practice of writing down thankfulness in a notebook requires effort and purpose. The usefulness of keeping a journal decreases the moment it becomes habitual, like reading social media newsfeeds.
Take your time appreciating those emotions; certain instances are more memorable than others. Enjoy those feelings when you’re fortunate enough to experience them. Imagine closing your eyes and soaking in every sound, scent, and idea. If this becomes second nature, you may be luckier than you imagined.
Do something extraordinary—reach out to someone and express your gratitude for all they do. Either write them a short “thank you” note or hold off on sending an actual card until their birthday. Do you recall the last occasion you were sent a letter? Neither of you will soon forget this delightful experience.
Take note of your routines; I warned you earlier about the dangers of using the exact words repeatedly in your appreciation notebook. Finding out what makes you happy can be as simple as looking for patterns and themes.
When I get up early and do something I enjoy, days are among my favourites. I can control my level of happiness by making this a regular part of my routine.
Here Are Some Prompts For Your Thankfulness Notebook To Help You Get Unstuck:
- Can you think of someone who always manages to simplify your life?
- The changing of the seasons and the weather may be impacting your attitude today.
- Has anything been going well at work lately? Why?
- Were there any moments today when you couldn’t help but smile?
- Which excursions are you most excited about?
- What makes you happy?
- What are some of your favorite routines or habits?
- What changed from yesterday?
- How was your time spent in nature today?
- Were you impacted in any way?
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Gratitude Journals and Mobile Writing Tools Side By Side
Do you also like writing with a pen and paper?. As a kid, journals, notebooks, and a mountain of loose-leaf paper were my go-to note-taking tools. A blank sheet of paper offers a unique opportunity to articulate ideas. Every little thing, even the scribbles in the margins, can bring back memories or things that might otherwise slip your mind.
Why Would You Ever Want to Use An App Instead If You Already Keep a Gratitude Journal in a Notebook?
First, I recommend against relying solely on a mobile or computer tool to replace your regular journaling practice. I like to use Happyfeed—the app in question—in addition to keeping a notebook. Even if your app doesn’t allow you to doodle, your old notebooks didn’t come with a camera, internet, or GPS.
The Upsides of Utilizing an App:
Incorporating images is simple; you can say goodbye to wordy descriptions if a picture is worth a thousand words.
Regarding location tracking, it’s entertaining to think about your past, present, and future travels and the locations that bring you the most joy.
Cloud backup—I’m embarrassed by how many phones I’ve smashed and journals I’ve lost. Knowing that your memories can endure indefinitely is a comfort.
Reminders—You can easily set daily reminders to enter moments by using the push notifications on your phone.
Lookup: Perhaps you’d like to recall the name of that Prague coffee shop you wanted. Databases make finding patterns and resurfacing old information possible.
Keeping a thankfulness notebook is a highly individual choice, so you should do it in a manner that feels right. My personal experience maintaining a gratitude notebook (over 1300 days as of publishing this) significantly influences the findings and conclusions drawn from the research and readings cited in this article.
“You’ll understand your habit better as it progresses.”. There are more upsides than you might think if you put in the time and energy to figure out what brings you joy and how to record those emotions. For those who are just starting out or who need some guidance in remaining on track,
As a reader, I am incredibly grateful to you. If you want to read my next posts, which combine ideas from psychology, social issues, education, business, biographies, women, leadership, tourism, climate change, and many more, you should follow me. You may sign up for my email list if you want to receive notifications whenever I post a new article.
