“No one who achieves success does so without the help of others. The wise and confident acknowledge this help with gratitude.” – Alfred North Whitehead.
Starting a Gratitude journal could be easy but maintaining it throughout the year is difficult. Once you start counting on your blessings, you will realize what is the difference between grateful and gratitude. You will feel a sense of calmness and happiness throughout the day, and life will feel worth every risk.
You do not need to spend hours every day trying to master the art of gratitude. All you need to do is fixing out fifteen minutes in your life for your gratitude list and write down everything that comes to your mind. Writing in your gratitude journal at least three times a week is enough to instill positive thinking in your mind that will have a great positive impact on your daily life.
Steps to start a powerful gratitude journal –
1. Search for a gratitude bullet journal as per your aesthetic –
The only way you can keep up with the habit of journaling every day is to invest time in your schedule for it. If you are someone who needs visual pressure to start something, then the easiest way is to find out a bullet journal that goes with your aesthetic.
If the cover page attracts you, you will be bound to open it and write into it every time. Thus, the search for a journal that goes with your aesthetic or even make some scribbles or doodles makes it more appealing to your eyes. In this way, your brain will be compelled to write in your gratitude journal, even if you do not want to.
2. Make a routine to journal regularly –
If you are unsure, you cannot write in your journal regularly and then try to take a 30-day gratitude challenge, where you need to write at least one sentence in your gratitude list. After thirty days, you will see that writing in your gratitude, the journal will become a part of your daily routine, and you will realize the importance of gratitude in your life.
Once you start seeing the changes in your daily life, you no longer will need to push yourself to write regularly. It will become a habit, and you will eventually find time out of your busy schedule for your gratitude journal.
3. If you still cannot keep yourself to write every day, try keeping rewards for yourself every time you write –
To make your 30 days gratitude challenge even more exciting for your brain, you could try putting up a small reward for each time you write in your gratitude journal. The reward need not be something great, but something that you love to do or you would love to have.
This way, your brain will be more interested in winning the reward, and in a fit of that, it will compel you to write each time on your gratitude bullet journal when you don’t want to. Another way round, you can also try putting up a punishment for the times when you do not write in your gratitude journal. This will also strike fear to the brain, and he will always want to stay away from the punishment.
You need not be too hard on yourself while journaling; journaling is a peaceful process, aiming for peace of the mind. If you want to take a day or two off because life is being troublesome, you could simply stop writing and get back to your gratitude bullet journal when you feel that your brain is capable of it. Try to enjoy the process of journaling rather than making it a burden on you.
4. Elaborate on why you are grateful for the moment –
If you are writing in your gratitude list “I loved the meal I had today,” try to explain it in a few sentences rather than ending it in a line. Try to write down what meal you had that made you feel happy and content, or write down how astonished you are that a hot bowl of food was enough to take away all your anger and frustration you gained throughout the day. This way, the next time you will come back to it, you will be able to feel the same happiness you felt while writing it down.
Elaborate on each point in at least three lines. You might just write one gratitude point per day, but remember not to leave it blank. Remember to write at least three lines for it. Even if you are just writing, “I am grateful because I’m strong,” try to write down which situation you are fighting against.
This way, later, you will realize how strong you were in the worst days of your life, how positive your mind was, even when the world around you was falling apart. You will feel proud, grateful for yourself.
5. Try to be creative with your gratitude journal –
you can add short stories of gratitude and thanksgiving if you feel that can make you feel satisfied or grateful in the future or if it pleases your eyes. Just try to be as creative as you can be with your gratitude journal. Add on layers of handmade papers or make it as colorful as you want it to be.
Make it the best in your eyes. It does not need to impress other people’s eyes. It’s your journal; you need to maintain it the way you want to. It is just your personal space that does not need anyone else’s validation. If bringing color to your journal brings you happiness makes it more approachable to you, do it. If keeping it minimal and clean is what you prefer, then go as per your aesthetic.
At the end of the day, you will realize that gratitude changes everything. The way you think, the way you approach problems in your life, the way you talk to yourself, everything.
6. Keep every negativity out from your everyday Gratitude list –
While you are writing in your gratitude journal, try to keep it far away from all the negative thoughts that lurk in your mind. For example, if you need to write about an ugly incident that happened in your life, you could write it in the form of a lesson that you learned. This way, it will not carry the negative thought it comes with.
The next time you go through your gratitude list, you will find how strongly you fought against the situation and that no ugly, negative energy can ever bother you. The sense of gratefulness and appreciation you will feel for yourself will be beyond your imagination.
7. Do not forget to consider people in your life while jotting down your Gratitude list for the day –
Gratitude is the key to happiness, and thus try to get as much personal as you can. Focus on all the people you are grateful for, either being by your side or teaching you a lesson.
Describe the role of the person in your life, how much that person matters, and how you are grateful you got to have that person in your life. Once you instill this feeling of gratefulness, you will know that gratitude changes everything.
You will find that you are seeing good things as “gifts,” and thus, life will no longer feel like a battle-field. Try to record every small surprise, every small gift that life showers on you in the form of your loved ones and keep them safe in your gratitude list. The feeling is worth everything.
8. Try to enlist incidents from the past that taught you a lesson that made you better in life –
Like previously mentioned, if you want to cite down an ugly incident from your life, something you feel changed your life, your thinking, then the best way to write it down is by presenting it as a life lesson. Try to make everything in your gratitude journal sound like a blessing, something that made you better in your life, something that gave you a lesson you will keep lifelong with yourself.
Once you have this habit of maintaining a gratitude list every day, you will gradually see the difference with time. Happiness is like a therapist that is sure to change your life with its presence. Later after a year or two, when you will get back and revisit old pages from your gratitude journal, you will realize how far you have come across. Some things cannot be learned from books, like personal mental growth. After all, self-development is a transformation, not a lesson.
SUVANGI CHANDA
Starting a Gratitude journal could be easy but maintaining it throughout the year is difficult. Once you start counting on your blessings, you will realize what is the difference between grateful and gratitude. You will feel a sense of calmness and happiness throughout the day, and life will feel worth every risk.
You do not need to spend hours every day trying to master the art of gratitude. All you need to do is fixing out fifteen minutes in your life for your gratitude list and write down everything that comes to your mind. Writing in your gratitude journal at least three times a week is enough to instill positive thinking in your mind that will have a great positive impact on your daily life.
Steps to start a powerful gratitude journal –
1. Search for a gratitude bullet journal as per your aesthetic –
The only way you can keep up with the habit of journaling every day is to invest time in your schedule for it. If you are someone who needs visual pressure to start something, then the easiest way is to find out a bullet journal that goes with your aesthetic.
If the cover page attracts you, you will be bound to open it and write into it every time. Thus, the search for a journal that goes with your aesthetic or even make some scribbles or doodles makes it more appealing to your eyes. In this way, your brain will be compelled to write in your gratitude journal, even if you do not want to.
2. Make a routine to journal regularly –
If you are unsure, you cannot write in your journal regularly and then try to take a 30-day gratitude challenge, where you need to write at least one sentence in your gratitude list. After thirty days, you will see that writing in your gratitude, the journal will become a part of your daily routine, and you will realize the importance of gratitude in your life.
Once you start seeing the changes in your daily life, you no longer will need to push yourself to write regularly. It will become a habit, and you will eventually find time out of your busy schedule for your gratitude journal.
3. If you still cannot keep yourself to write every day, try keeping rewards for yourself every time you write –
To make your 30 days gratitude challenge even more exciting for your brain, you could try putting up a small reward for each time you write in your gratitude journal. The reward need not be something great, but something that you love to do or you would love to have.
This way, your brain will be more interested in winning the reward, and in a fit of that, it will compel you to write each time on your gratitude bullet journal when you don’t want to. Another way round, you can also try putting up a punishment for the times when you do not write in your gratitude journal. This will also strike fear to the brain, and he will always want to stay away from the punishment.
You need not be too hard on yourself while journaling; journaling is a peaceful process, aiming for peace of the mind. If you want to take a day or two off because life is being troublesome, you could simply stop writing and get back to your gratitude bullet journal when you feel that your brain is capable of it. Try to enjoy the process of journaling rather than making it a burden on you.
4. Elaborate on why you are grateful for the moment –
If you are writing in your gratitude list “I loved the meal I had today,” try to explain it in a few sentences rather than ending it in a line. Try to write down what meal you had that made you feel happy and content, or write down how astonished you are that a hot bowl of food was enough to take away all your anger and frustration you gained throughout the day. This way, the next time you will come back to it, you will be able to feel the same happiness you felt while writing it down.
Elaborate on each point in at least three lines. You might just write one gratitude point per day, but remember not to leave it blank. Remember to write at least three lines for it. Even if you are just writing, “I am grateful because I’m strong,” try to write down which situation you are fighting against.
This way, later, you will realize how strong you were in the worst days of your life, how positive your mind was, even when the world around you was falling apart. You will feel proud, grateful for yourself.
5. Try to be creative with your gratitude journal –
you can add short stories of gratitude and thanksgiving if you feel that can make you feel satisfied or grateful in the future or if it pleases your eyes. Just try to be as creative as you can be with your gratitude journal. Add on layers of handmade papers or make it as colorful as you want it to be.
Make it the best in your eyes. It does not need to impress other people’s eyes. It’s your journal; you need to maintain it the way you want to. It is just your personal space that does not need anyone else’s validation. If bringing color to your journal brings you happiness makes it more approachable to you, do it. If keeping it minimal and clean is what you prefer, then go as per your aesthetic.
At the end of the day, you will realize that gratitude changes everything. The way you think, the way you approach problems in your life, the way you talk to yourself, everything.
6. Keep every negativity out from your everyday Gratitude list –
While you are writing in your gratitude journal, try to keep it far away from all the negative thoughts that lurk in your mind. For example, if you need to write about an ugly incident that happened in your life, you could write it in the form of a lesson that you learned. This way, it will not carry the negative thought it comes with.
The next time you go through your gratitude list, you will find how strongly you fought against the situation and that no ugly, negative energy can ever bother you. The sense of gratefulness and appreciation you will feel for yourself will be beyond your imagination.
7. Do not forget to consider people in your life while jotting down your Gratitude list for the day –
Gratitude is the key to happiness, and thus try to get as much personal as you can. Focus on all the people you are grateful for, either being by your side or teaching you a lesson.
Describe the role of the person in your life, how much that person matters, and how you are grateful you got to have that person in your life. Once you instill this feeling of gratefulness, you will know that gratitude changes everything.
You will find that you are seeing good things as “gifts,” and thus, life will no longer feel like a battle-field. Try to record every small surprise, every small gift that life showers on you in the form of your loved ones and keep them safe in your gratitude list. The feeling is worth everything.
8. Try to enlist incidents from the past that taught you a lesson that made you better in life –
Like previously mentioned, if you want to cite down an ugly incident from your life, something you feel changed your life, your thinking, then the best way to write it down is by presenting it as a life lesson. Try to make everything in your gratitude journal sound like a blessing, something that made you better in your life, something that gave you a lesson you will keep lifelong with yourself.
Once you have this habit of maintaining a gratitude list every day, you will gradually see the difference with time. Happiness is like a therapist that is sure to change your life with its presence. Later after a year or two, when you will get back and revisit old pages from your gratitude journal, you will realize how far you have come across. Some things cannot be learned from books, like personal mental growth. After all, self-development is a transformation, not a lesson.