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How Keeping a Gratitude Journal Amplifies Happiness

How Keeping a Gratitude Journal Amplifies Happiness

Gratitude has long been praised for its ability to induce happiness and peace, even in harsh conditions, and positive psychologists point to gratitude as a reliable path to a happier life. Get intentional about your happiness, and discover why writing in a gratitude journal is a habit worth embracing.

“Gratitude can transform common days into thanksgivings, turn routine jobs into joy, and change ordinary opportunities into blessings.” – William Arthur Ward

Benefits of Practicing Gratitude

By incorporating daily grateful thinking into your life, you’re laying a solid foundation upon which happiness can flourish.

A few benefits of practicing gratitude include:

  • Increased self-esteem
  • Better sleep
  • Improved physical health
  • Improved psychological health
  • Increased mental strength
  • Enhanced empathy and reduced aggression

Negative thinking is a pattern that feeds on itself. Luckily, research presented in Dr. Martin Seligman’s book Authentic Happiness shows that positive thinking is a pattern that also fuels its own forward motion.

So, how exactly can we generate happiness? Up to 40 percent of our happiness may stem from intentional activities that we choose to engage. One of the activities endorsed by science is writing in a gratitude journal.

Benefits of a Gratitude Journal

Keeping a gratitude journal encourages us to focus on the positive and, in doing so, helps reprogram our thoughts to break the negative thought cycle. The intention is to pay attention to the good things in life that we would otherwise take for granted, or that would otherwise be missed.

See common things in uncommon ways, and walls fall down. Perceptions shift. Miracles happen.

Recalling moments, personal attributes, life lessons, or people in your life which you are thankful for sets the stage for a sustainable life theme of gratefulness.

Expressing your gratefulness in writing actually retrains your brain to look beyond physical pains and toward a bright future.

How to Keep a Gratitude Journal

The following advice extends from my own practice coupled with scientific research rooted mainly in positive psychology. I sincerely hope it helps you, too.

Please note that research varies on the effectiveness of daily versus weekly journaling. My advice is to conduct your own experiment. Personally, I look forward to and enjoy thanksgiving, because it's had such a huge impact on my happiness; for me, journaling three days per week works best.

Even on the days I don’t write, I’m apt to seek out things to be grateful for. It has become second nature for me, because I’ve made it a priority not just once in a while, but every single day.

Here are a few tips to help you get started and keep going with this practice:

1. Make space solely for your grateful writing.

Dedicate a separate notebook or a separate section in your current journal to penning your gratitude. This creates consistency and fluidity, and you can read through it all at once, if you want to, or feel like you could use a lift.

2. Choose your medium.

Handwriting your journal encourages you to slow down in a fast world, and connects you to your words. However, you may prefer typing to handwriting. The tool you use is ultimately up to you.

3. Include dates and page numbers.

It’s inspiring to look back on certain dates and remember what you were thankful for that day. Numbered pages reveal how far along your gratitude journey you have come, encouraging you to keep going.

4. Write 3-5 things you’re grateful for.

One sentence each will suffice, unless you prefer lengthier descriptions. Experiment.

5. Be specific.

Get clear about why you’re thankful for this moment, person, opportunity, etc. Rather than writing, “I am grateful for my home,” it would behoove you to write, “I am grateful for this roof over my head, shelter from the elements, and the comfort it gives after a long day.”

In other words: Depth over breadth.

6. Keep it time-sensitive.

Whatever thanks you express in words, keep it specific to that day. Record unexpected positive events or experiences that happened today.

7. Relish the feeling.

Don’t just go through the motions. Really feel the gratitude. Write with awareness and purpose. Give it your thought and emotion. See each grateful sentence—and its source—as a gift. Cherish the depth of gratitude that you feel towards this gift. In fact, when you write down your thoughts, it deepens their emotional impact.

8. Find the hidden gift.

Even in the most dire situations, you can train your brain to seek out the positive aspects of what you’re going through. From personal experience, I know this can be extremely difficult, but it can be done.

Instead of dwelling on what’s not working, give energy to the smallest glimmer of hope. Focus on your blessings more than your burdens. Think about what you can do versus what you cannot do.

When you consistently widen your perspective, it becomes easier to find the good.

9. Doodle.

Whether or not you have an eye (or the hand) for art, drawing can help solidify your gratitude. Feel free to put your gratitude into picture form, whatever that might look like.

10. Be consistent.

Write in your journal daily (or weekly), preferably at the same time of day or in conjunction with the same activity. For example, I write in my gratitude journal before I go to bed at night, and I do it while lying on the floor with my feet up on my bed (which stretches out my lower back).

Consistency firmly anchors the activity into your routine.

Keep Going…

There are no long-term quick fixes for increasing your happiness. You need to be patient and practice grateful thinking every single day for it to work... and it's not a remedy for everything.

Sometimes, it might feel like you’re fighting against the negative. Do your best. Gratitude is not a cure-all for negativity. Frustration still happens. Anger, disappointment, sadness, and stress happen, but they can coexist with the knowledge, deep down, that beauty is the light in the soul.

Gratitude doesn't erase painful emotions, but it does loosen their grip on your life.

We can all be grateful for the light within, because even if we forget about it, it never leaves.

. . .

Tell me:

What and who are you thankful for today?

Tell me in the comments. I read every single one, and I’d love to know!

With so much love,

Jen

P.S. Need more help when the sun goes down? Get my book Sleep Rituals for 100 at-home practices that are all about you and the present moment... no past to hold you back, no future to worry about. You'll find so many ways... so many reasons... to be grateful right here and now.

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