How to create a powerful gratitude journal
This new year, boost happiness with this simple five-minute daily ritual of saying thanks
Text: Josephine Tee
Do you find yourself suffering bouts of the blues from the increasingly grim news headlines or from the omnipresent travel restrictions? You are not alone. As we usher in a brand new year, choose to take control of your mind and focus on the good instead of mentally replaying life’s challenges, no matter how difficult that can seem. How? By committing to a gratitude journal.
With just a couple of minutes of self-reflection each day, you can cultivate the habits of appreciating life and being happier. Over time you’ll develop a more positive mindset, build better relationships with yourself and others, and increase your overall wellbeing.
What is a gratitude journal?
We can train our minds to seek out positive aspects to any situation no matter how grave the outlook. A simple tool that helps build the habit of recording and reflecting on things you are grateful for. The action of writing thoughts down helps us to rewire our brain to channel energy on the positive aspects of our lives and build up resilience against negativity.
Benefits of gratitude based on science
One of the most commonly cited research papers shows that practicing gratitude through journaling may increase overall feelings of happiness and reduce symptoms of depression.
Scientists cite that the benefits include:
· Building a greater connection to others
· Increased personal joy
· Having lower symptoms of physical pain
Gratitude journaling helps counterbalance our negativity bias on a subconscious level. For most of us, we tend to criticise and dwell on problems, while showing appreciation and focusing on the positive requires a conscious effort. Keeping a gratitude journal allows us to extract and savor life’s happy moments, no matter how big they are. Translating thoughts into concrete language — whether oral or written — makes us more aware, deepening the emotional impact.
How to keep a gratitude journal
First, decide where you want to record your thoughts. Whether it’s a physical notebook or a digital app, select the option that works best for your habits and schedule. A blank journal may inspire you to get started if you’re unsure.
Position yourself to successfully create a journaling habit by creating a ritual around it. Gratitude journaling may be tough at first as it can feel like another task on your to-do list. Attaching it to an existing morning or evening habit guarantees you a dedicated time to write, and shifting your mindset allows you to view it as a relaxing activity and not a chore. Every morning, I spend five minutes writing in my gratitude journal after my daily stretch. This is the best time for me as I get a chance to slow down, breathe, and form a positive mindset before I tackle the day ahead.
From here you can choose to write a simple one-sentence gratitude-of-the-day, a free-form journal entry expressing appreciation for life, or follow a structured template. When I began my gratitude journal journey, I referenced the pages of the best-seller gratitude journal to start and have been doing that since. Tim Ferriss (author of The 4 Hour Work Week) structures his gratitude recording according to these categories:
· Relationships: A relationship that helped or is helping you
· An opportunity that you have today
· Something great that happened or you saw yesterday
· Something simple near you (the morning sun, smell of fresh coffee, etc)
After establishing your journaling ritual and style, practice effective journaling to ensure that the good feelings will stick at a core level. A key tip to fostering gratitude is to be as specific as possible. Although you may write “I am grateful for my spouse” it’s better to get specific and list exactly what you are grateful to your spouse for. It also matters less what you write, and more what you experience and feel. Try to visualise the gratitude and why it matters to you. Linger in the sensation and awe of the positive feeling as you pen your thoughts.
Keep the gratitude going
As you grow more comfortable with the process, consider getting your family involved by sharing the things you’re grateful for around the dinner table, or making it part of your nightly bedtime routine. It can be a great family activity, especially during this period of uncertainty and stress. Over time you will find that reflecting on gratitude will inspire you to express that sentiment to others. Consider sending a thank you note for a kind gesture someone did for you or contacting a good friend that you may have lost touch with.
Check-in with yourself every once in a while to gauge how your happiness has improved and to validate your ongoing practice. Are you feeling lighter and more positive after one month or a year? Maybe you’re having better relationships with others or your self-talk has become more positive. Revisiting your old pages can also provide a boost of positivity when you discover your progress.
Keeping a gratitude journal is a personal journey and while there are recommendations to guide you, there are no fixed rules on what you can or cannot do. Remember that creating a new habit takes time. Journal what feels right for you and watch your heart and mind open to up to more light and positivity.
