When times get tough and you’re feeling low and alone, it’s important to bring your mind and body back to what makes you feel good. Part of that, is reminding yourself what you’re grateful for in life.
Starting a gratitude journal can be a powerful mechanism to help you focus and remind yourself of the positive things in your life.
Here are some guidelines for starting a gratitude journal:
1. Choose a journal – How do you plan to journal? Do you prefer to write your thoughts down on paper or type? Go out and even buy a nice journal that feels special to you.
2. How often do you plan to journal? How often you journal should be at your discretion. Don’t force it. The more you journal however, the more you have an opportunity to re-center and bring you back to that positive mindset.
3. What to write? Write anything you’re grateful for today and be as specific as possible. For example, writing that you’re grateful for your job is rather vague. What do you like about your job? Is it the people? Is it the fact you get to work from home? Is it that you have autonomy over your work? Write in as much detail as possible and each time you write, try and think of more than one thing you’re grateful for on that day.
Writing about the people and connections in your life is another way to truly connect with your happiness and positivity. Who are you thankful for in your life? What do you love about them? Why is that relationship so special to you?
Take it another step further and reframe situations/people that are perceived as negative, to positive. For example, your boyfriend just broke up with you. You miss him and you feel terrible right now. However, what can you be grateful for in this moment? You now have an opportunity to focus on yourself, what have you always wanted to do that you weren’t able to in that relationship? This breakup could be freeing you to meet someone who is going to love you back the way you want to be. What comes to mind for you?
4. Don’t just journal just to journal. If you have to force yourself to journal, then leave it that day. Writing in your gratitude journal should not seem like a chore. In order for it to be meaningful to you, it’s important to feel the desire and motivation to write in your journal. On the other side, if you’re having a bad day, try writing a bit anyway, sometimes just writing your thoughts out can be cathartic and allow yourself to bring you back into mind and body.
So next time you’re having a bad day, try starting a gratitude journal. It can change your outlook on life quite quickly. Remember, just because today seems like a bad day, they’re are so many things to be thankful for in life.
