Why You Should Keep a Gratitude Journal

When was the last time you felt truly grateful? Do you remember how good it felt? What about now? How often do you feel real gratitude in your life?

It is far too easy to focus on the things we wish were different and to overlook the things we have to be thankful for. Yet, we all know how good it feels when we appreciate. So, how can we learn to focus more on our blessings and get more of the good feelings that come with it?

Keep a Gratitude Journal

A gratitude journal is a simple and beautiful idea. It provides a place for you to stop and appreciate all of the wonderful things in your life.

Sometimes we may feel that we don't have a lot to be grateful for, but if you take the time to look for those things, they will appear. You can write anything you want in a gratitude journal, it doesn't matter how insignificant it seems. Often the many small things in life are our greatest gifts.

What's the Point

The point of a gratitude journal is to assist you in shifting from a state of discontent to one of appreciation. Keeping a gratitude journal makes it easier to remember to be grateful.

Keep your journal on your night stand or somewhere that you will see it every day. Often just glancing at it will trigger thoughts of gratitude.

It Gets Easier

Don't feel bad if when you first begin your gratitude journal you can't think of anything you're really grateful for. This doesn't mean that you're a selfish person; it only means that the part of your brain that produces gratitude is a little out of practice.

Just write down anything you can think of; your sight, the food you have to eat, a bed to sleep in at night, and so on. As time goes on and you get in the habit of expressing gratitude, you will notice so many things to be grateful for that you won't be able to write them all down.

Morning and Night are the Best Times to Write

Writing down what you're grateful for is a wonderful way to start your day. It gets you in that frame of mind and makes it easier to notice things to be grateful for as you go about the rest of your day.

Before going to sleep is also a great time for writing in your gratitude journal. As your mind finishes its day job of keeping you alert and active, it now has time to work its night shift: filing, sorting, and processing all of the information it received during the day. What better thing for it to process than thoughts of gratitude and appreciation.

Purchase or Make a Special Journal

It's true that we are drawn to things of beauty. You'll be a lot fonder of your gratitude journal if it feels special to you. So why not purchase a nice looking journal or make one yourself. It doesn't have to be expensive or over the top, just something you can enjoy. You may even begin your gratitude journal with being grateful for it.

The Benefits

When you truly live in gratitude you are at peace, content, uplifted, and energized. Your life feels full and satisfying. Grateful people are usually healthier and happier people. And isn't it ironic that people who appreciate their blessings usually have more of them.

Meister Eckhart put it beautifully when he said, "If the only prayer you said in your whole life was, 'thank you,' that would suffice."