How to Start a Gratitude Journal – And Actually Stick With It

By Chloe Bennet

Recording gratitude is a powerful thing. Through the recognition of receiving things, we naturally attract to us more things to be grateful for. After all, you are where your attention is. If your attention is focused on all the things you feel your life lacks, you will attract that feeling more and more to yourself, and so will keep finding where your life lacks something.

On the other hand, you could start a gratitude journal. This is a simple and easy way to keep your focus on the element of gratitude, opening up more avenues of joy and success in your life. You will find that the most grateful people are often the happiest and most easy-going. This is not a coincidence; you can achieve this too. 

Finding things to be grateful for

If you are going through a rough patch in life, lean on a gratitude journal. Carry it around with you habitually, even if you don’t write in it all the time. Simply having it on you will remind you that you are consciously looking out for things to be happy about. 

If you get stuck in the idea that things can’t just simply change, that’s the exact way life will approach you. Keeping an eye out for the positives will help you acknowledge that the negatives in life are here for balance. Loss allows gain, and gain facilitates opportunities for loss. Try to remain grateful for everything in your life as various enriching and learning experiences. 

Gratefulness leads to happiness, for there are things to be happy about. A well-known and well-loved Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh discusses in his book “True Love,” that love exists where there is understanding. See gratitude as the tool to be understanding of all the good things in your life. Look at these things with a fresh mind and tell them that their presence makes you happy. You can do this out loud, or better yet, write this down in your gratitude journal. Allow yourself to be conditioned into gratitude. 

Be aware of what motivates you

Happiness is your biggest motivator. Even true altruism probably doesn’t exist (think about it). However, many people fall into the trap of seeing happiness as an end goal of their journey. Happiness can be a state that you are, such that everything that you associate with happiness, such as a good job or a good relationship can fit into you, rather than you moulding to it. 

Consistency 

You could simply purchase a blank notebook and begin jotting things down each night before you go off to sleep. This would get the ball rolling: in a few weeks it will become habitual and you will find yourself each night starting to think of things you are grateful for. 

How to start a gratitude journal

Pick your journal carefully. 

You will appreciate this tip later on when you start to build a friendship with your journal. Pick one that reflects you with its colors and/ or patterns. Alternatively, pick the plainest one you can find and decorate it yourself. 

Rituals and routines are important for habits. 

It is best to enter a calmer state when listing things you are grateful for. This invites a clearer state of mind and you will think more openly and rationally. You could light a candle or a stick of incense. You could turn off your phone and play some soothing music. Whatever works for you, keep it up: do this every time you turn to your journal to allow yourself to associate writing in the journal with a feeling of peace. 

Be open and honest with yourself.

Express your gratitude how you see fit. This could be in writing or in another art form that you feel is best for your expression. However you do express, express something. Even if it isn’t something you experienced in the actual day, go into your vast memory space and find something in your life on a broader scale. The more things you write down, the more things you will find to write down. 

End your day with gratitude.

 Keep your spirit towards your gratitude journal strong by associating it with sleep. It is a wonderful idea to end each day with digging into your mind to find things you are grateful for. 

About Chloe:

Chloe Bennet is a content marketing specialist at Assignment Help UK and Boom Essays. Chloe loves writing articles and working on her blog at Online essay writer where she shares her expert tips and tricks on education and college life.