Keeping a Gratitude Journal

Writing down what you are grateful for every day can be very beneficial. Gratitude journals have been mentioned by Sarah Ban Breathnach, author of Simple Abundance and Something More. They have also been mentioned many times by Oprah Winfrey on her television show or even in her magazine. Gratitude journals are also used by twelve step programs.

Keeping a gratitude journal is very simple to do. I have kept a gratitude journal for about six months, and sometimes I spend five minutes writing up the day's gratitude list - other days I will spend about twenty minutes getting into more detail. Probably the first step is deciding how you would like to keep your gratitude journal. You can buy yourself a pretty decorated notebook specifically for this purpose and keep it by your bedside to record every morning or every night. Or if you are already keeping a journal for other purposes, you may decide to simply add in your gratitude into your existing journal. Some people keeping a gratitude journal have even kept them at their blogs, sharing their gratitude with their readers - which is just wonderful! But whatever method you choose will be the best for you.

Every day list five to ten things that you are grateful for that day. If it has been a tough day, go with the very basics. Maybe you are grateful for sunshine, or for your baby's smile, or for your health. It is kind of funny - but even on a challenging day I have never had a problem listing ten things that I am grateful for, and that just amazes me. You may feel better immediately after listing what you are grateful, when you realize just how much there is in your life! Some days you have a terrific day - and there is just so much that you want to list - you feel like you could list thirty or maybe forty things that day to be grateful for, and isn't that a wonderful thing? Now that is a terrific feeling, there is no feeling like it! So keeping a gratitude journal, no matter what your mood is, is surely going to make you feel even better when you see just how much you have in your life to be grateful for. You may find that by keeping a gratitude journal you are more aware of the good in your life, and all that you have to be grateful for.

Sometimes it is nice to go into detail about why you are grateful to have these things in your life. To write a few sentence for each thing on your gratitude list. This can be a great thing to do if you have the extra time. It can also be helpful if you are having a tough day, to help you focus on exactly what you have to be grateful for.

Your gratitude journal may even inspire you to act with gratitude. If you write that you are grateful for a person in your life, you may be inspired to do something to say "thank you" to that person, such as giving that person a nice plant or another little gift as a treat. This is another wonderful benefit of keeping a gratitude journal.

I am sure right now you could even think of five things you were grateful for. Consider listing them right now, or just naming them off the top of your head. Maybe this will inspire you to keep a gratitude journal, to keep that feeling of wonderful positive energy all the time!