Gratitude is one of the healthiest human emotions. Expressing this emotion can actually reduce depression, increase self-esteem, improve sleep, regulate your emotions, increase hope for the future, reduce stress and anxiety, can improve symptoms of PTSD, make you more resilient in life, and makes you more likely to help others around you. One way to express this emotion is to gratitude journal. Gratitude journaling lets you look around at your life and show a new appreciation for things you haven't always shown a deep appreciation for. It also lets you rewire your mindset to appreciate more things in your life. If you haven't read our AN INTRO TO JOURNALING blog post, you should check that post out as well for some ideas on how and what to journal. If you have never done gratitude journaling, it can be confusing on how to do it because it is a human emotion that we don't express often. So, we have a few ways to get you started on this gratitude journaling journey.
QUICK "STEPS" TO GRATITUDE JOURNALING
1. To begin with, you will need a journal if you don't already have one. If you already journal, gratitude journaling can be done within your daily journaling or it can separate. If you prefer to type, you can always use your notes app and create a gratitude journaling folder.
2. It is important to do this journaling within a schedule so it becomes part of your daily routine. You can either set a timer at a certain time of day, like each day at 11:11, or you can do it when you wake up/before going to bed. The time you journal will effect your day, so pick a time that you think will benefit you the most. You can also try it at a few different times and see which one has the most impact on your day.
3. Once you have a time picked out, then you can start writing. If you are brand new to gratitude journaling, the best way to start this practice is to find three to five things to be grateful for each day. Then explain, in depth, why you are grateful for this thing/person/day/ect... For example: "I am grateful for the sun. The way the sun shines on our earth with warmth of love and generosity. Giving her all and keeping us alive. The way my skin defrosts under her rays and makes me feel as if I am glowing. Her warmth brings me daisies and sunflowers, long grass to run through freely, blossoms of fruit trees and more. I am grateful for the sun because she keeps my loved ones alive, and so I love the sun." The "in depth" part lets our brain fixate on those objects and find deeper meanings within the smallest or biggest things in life. This is part of gratitude journaling that truly allows us to rewire how we think and see our lives.
4. Once you write three to five gratitudes for a while, it becomes easier and the writing will just flow. From there, you can start adding to the amount of gratitudes you journal about. Since you will be writing about more each day, you might find yourself repeating things, which is totally okay. When you find yourself repeating things, try to find a different way to look at that object and write about a new perspective in the "in depth" part.
Those are the four "steps" to begin your gratitude journaling. If you want an introduction to journaling check out our blog post: AN INTRO TO JOURNALING. It gives you a few different types of other journaling options that can be super beneficial for your mental health. We hope you have a wonderful day and we are so grateful for each and every one of you.
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