Gratitude Journaling
Gratitude Journaling is a way to consciously call attention to the things for which we are thankful each day. By focusing on gratitude, we become aware of those things and thus create a shift in our thinking to the positive. Developing an attitude of gratitude towards the people, things, and events in your life is a life-affirming and effective way to strengthen your emotional resilience and reduce stress, among other things!
How To:
- Choose a notebook or journal that you can keep by your bed and write in every night before you go to sleep.
- Make mental notes throughout your day and before retiring at night. Write five things for which you were grateful for that day or other great or inspiring things that you encountered that day.
- Personalize the gratitude journal. Expand it with clippings, photos, quotes or verses from magazines or other sources.
Begin looking every day for the positive angle in all things. View obstacles as opportunities to appreciate and a way to learn and gain experience. Focus on the wonderful things in life to attract similar encounters in the course of the day. Use positive energy like a magnet to draw even more positive energy into your life.
Remember that all gratitude doesn’t need to be saved for the journal. Tell the people in your life how much you appreciate them. From people in your family to sales clerks and postal employees you encounter in your day, everyone likes to know that they’re appreciated and their positive reactions can help put you in a positive mood too!
