The Power of Gratitude
Today, September 21st, is World Gratitude Day. “World Gratitude Day has been designed to bring the whole world together in a day that is all about being thankful. World Gratitude Day joins organizations, nationals, and individuals in sharing their gratitude in a number of different ways.” - daysoftheyear.com
With everything going on in the world around us, the stress and the weight of every day life can take its toll. We should all have practices that bring us joy and reduce stress. Taking the time to develop a practice of gratitude can be a life saving habit. Intentionally practicing gratitude has been scientifically proven to reduce stress, increase happiness and improve resiliency.
One of my favorite coaching tools for practicing gratitude is keeping a gratitude journal. I started keeping a gratitude journal in 2010 and it has honestly been a life changing practice for me.
Listed below are some tips on starting and maintaining your gratitude journal. Enjoy the process of journaling and most importantly, remember to enjoy the journey!
1. Buy or find a journal. If you're like me and buy journals for "just in case" moments, then you just have to decide which one to use. If you don't have a journal, you can find a cool notebook or journal to start this process. Don't allow not having a fancy journal stop you. You can keep an electronic version or even use a notebook that you have handy. Use post-its if you have to. Just start.
2. Pick a time of day that works for you and put it on your calendar or set an alarm so you're more likely to stick to your new routine. I prefer to write in my journal at night before bedtime. It's a part of my wind down process and helps me to calm my mind and puts me in a good space mentally before I go to sleep. Although I prefer journaling at night, pick the time of day that works for you. The important thing is that you do it.
3. Keep your gratitude journal in a location in your home where you'll write in it each day. For example, if you're going to write in your journal at night or in the morning, keep the journal by your nightstand. If you prefer to write in your journal while having your morning coffee, keep it in the kitchen or in your office.
4. Write down whatever you want to and as many entries as you want to. This is a judgement free practice. Your journal entries don't have to be deep. If they are, that is perfectly fine. If not, that's ok too. I like to aim for at least 5 things but there are some days where I've written way more than that or some days where I only wrote 3. Typically if you're able to write down one thing, you think of another. But if you're only able to write down 1 thing for that day, that is ok too.
Happy Journaling and feel free to share with us any AHA moments or breakthroughs that you experience during this process. !