The Gratitude Journal
I’m not a big fan of Winter. I find it cold and wet and generally pretty miserable.
If you’re one of the many people whose moods start to darken with the grey clouds (I certainly am), why not add some sunshine to your life by keeping a gratitude journal?
Sometimes, when the world’s worries are piling up, it can be so easy to lose touch with just how lucky we are…
- We have food on our table, shoes on our feet, and a roof over our head;
- As women, we are free to wear anything and go wherever we please;
- We can walk down the street without fear of gunfire;
- We can send our kids to school for 13 years (!), knowing they will grow up with the world as their oyster.
- We can look up at the stars and wonder…
Wow! So many things to be grateful for!
There’s been a lot written lately about how embracing an attitude of gratefulness can be the secret to happiness – increasing resilience, reducing stress, improving immunity and overall health and strengthening relationships. The 365 Grateful project by Hailey Bartholomew has been much written about recently. It started out when Hailey, feeling stuck in a rut, sought some advice… part of that advice was to live in a spirit of gratitude. Hailey decided to photograph one thing each day that made her grateful. The effects on her marriage, family life and overall wellbeing were outstanding, and the spread of that one project has been nothing short of incredible. Now she’s making a film. Really, one person can make a difference!
Personally, I found that the very act of keeping a gratitude journal meant that I started looking for things each day for which I was grateful. It heightened my awareness of what was going on around me, and the beauty in the “everyday”. While I no longer keep a gratitude journal daily, I do miss it… it kept life real, and allowed me to slow down and appreciate the little things in life. I used an iPhone app, which I thought would be quick and easy to put into practice. However, I found that tend to put my “technology” aside at the end of the day, and so didn’t really build the habit (apparently it takes 21 days to create a habit). I really should try again using a paper journal, as I think that a gratitude journal is a really important – and easy – way to record and grow our lives.
There are loads of ways to keep a gratitude journal. Here are some that I have found…
- Choose a special notebook or even a digital app (I have used Gratitude Journal) and write down 5 things each day that you are grateful for. Alternatively, just write once a week and focus on just one thing… (sorry, the jury’s out on which is the most effective method!) Concentrating on people, rather than things, and going for some depth really helps build a true sense of gratitude. That said, there are some days that just being grateful for having a shower (hot or otherwise) is enough!
- Do as Hailey did and photograph one thing each day for which you are grateful and paste into an album with a little caption. You might like to share on Instagram or Flickr too!
- Blog about it… and share with Maxabella on 52 weeks of Grateful at Village Voices.
- Create a gratitude board (much like a vision board). Cut out and paste words and pictures that describe what you are grateful for. Put up in a prominent place such as your fridge or noticeboard and reflect each day on how fortunate you are.
- Encourage gratitude in your kids. Openly discuss the situation in other places of the world where children their age are less fortunate – not in a spirit of sympathy, or to produce feelings of guilt, but to open their eyes about how lucky we are. This is particularly effective around the time of Toy Sales
Suggest to your kids that they keep a gratitude journal also. - Write a little mantra or prayer, stating what you are grateful for… recite it each evening (or whenever you get a quiet moment) as a type of meditation.
It seems such a simple thing to do, but evidence is mounting up – practising gratitude is great for all of you – mind, body and spirit. Hopefully one day you’ll thank me for suggesting it to you
Image Source: “I will be grateful for this Day” by Jessica Rose on Etsy
