How to Keep a Gratitude Journal

A gratitude journal is a way to consciously call attention to the things for which we are thankful each day. By focusing on gratitude, we become aware of those things and thus create a shift in our thinking to the positive. The following suggestions can help start a gratitude journal and a whole new outlook on life.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

1. Choose a blank notebook or journal to write in every night. Consider a spiral-bound journal that opens flat for ease in writing. Select lined or unlined paper. Keep this notebook next to the bed with a pen readily available.

2. Look for things during the day for which you are grateful. Make mental notes throughout the day. Notice how the gratitude journal shifts the focus to a more positive outlook.

3. Write five thing you're grateful for each night before bedtime. Review the day and include anything, however small or great, that was a source of gratitude that day, e.g., a baby's smile, a flower in bloom, or the smell of a newly cut lawn. Make the list personal. Write a few words about the five benefits or blessings. Be brief and increase the length as time progresses.

4. Begin looking everyday for the positive angle in all things. View obstacles as opportunities to appreciate.

5. Focus on the wonderful things in life to attract similar encounters in the course of the day. Use positive energy as a magnet to draw even more positive energy. Note these attractions in the gratitude journal.

6. Personalize the gratitude journal. Expand it with clippings, photos, quotes or verses from magazines or other sources.

Resources

• An Online Gratitude Journal.
• Gratitude Journal Software.

[jenconsalvo]

on 10/8/2009 There's also a new, free gratitude journal called Thankfulfor.com that allows you to create a private or public gratitude journal and even hook into your social network. Watching the public "stream of thanks" is cool - as jorge522 said, it's nice to see what others are thankful for as well. It's a great way to start feeling better if you are down, or share your good vibes if you are feeling good (happiness is contagious!).

Cheers!
Jen

[jbpounders]

on 8/20/2008 Check out ButterBeeHappy.com, another place people are posting feelings of gratitude. It does it in the form of 5 happy thoughts a day.

[jorge522]

on 12/19/2007 There is a website, www.thanks-o-meter.com that is a free online gratitude journal. Rather than a personal journal, it displays all of the submissions for anyone to read. It's a nice way to see what others are thankful for.