Hello everyone! How are you all? In this blog I’d like to share my thoughts on gratitude journaling. I started gratitude journaling on the 18th of June, this year. I was inspired to do so from an Instagram post I saw from Robin Sharma - most known for being an excellent writer - and decided to implement it into my daily routine. So every night before bed, I write 3 things that I am grateful for - that have happened in that day - in a notebook. Here’s what I have found.
Greater focus on the good
Amongst my friends and even strangers who I have briefly met, I am known for being a super positive individual who focuses on solutions and the beauty that life offers me. I don’t get caught up in the storm of negativity and quickly exit by moving to the positive side. However gratitude journaling has increased my positivity so much that I have noticed a shift. I see much more beauty and things to be grateful for than before, which was hard to believe at first as I thought I couldn’t possibly become more positive. I guess there’s always room for improvement right?
Appreciate the little things more
For example I will wake up grateful to be alive and happy to be in a comfortable bed. When you’re grateful as soon as you wake up, you can’t possibly go wrong. There will be others times in the day when I’m walking around and I’ll feel grateful for my eyes, because they allow me to see so much beauty, especially in a city like Shanghai! I know of many people who have told me that it’s difficult to be grateful, especially when things aren’t going well. I agree to a certain extent. However once gratitude journaling becomes a habit, things to be grateful for become less foggy and much more clear.
By making gratitude journaling a habit I am focusing more on things to be grateful for. I assumed this would only make me feel great during the time I write, but it’s having a profound effect on me throughout the day too. I believe it can have the same effect on you too! Expressing gratitude is something we as people often forget throughout our day because we are so caught up in our lives. Whether it’s going to work, planning events/activities, having so many things to do, we seem to neglect the simple things that take very little of our time but can drastically improve our state. It’s clear to me that the positive effect it has on our mind lasts all day every day. Why wouldn’t you want to feel great each day?
Mental strength
Just like we train our bodies at the gym to change, gratitude journaling trains our minds to change. In this case the change is all about finding more things to be grateful for. Just as any habit we form, the more we do it the more natural it becomes to us. Gratitude journaling is no different! The more we think of things to be grateful for, the easier it becomes to find things to be grateful for. The impact this has on us is long-term joy and a stronger mindset that can take positives from every situation. It’s brilliant.
Sleep with a smile on your face
Sleep with a smile on your face, now who doesn’t want that? This is my favourite part of gratitude journaling at night. I’m filling myself with all of these positive emotions that make me feel really happy and blessed right before I sleep. This is undoubtedly a key reason why I wake up feeling happy and blessed – I’m carrying over the emotions from the previous night into the new morning!
If we can start and end our days feeling happy and blessed, we’re in a great place. Gratitude journaling can be the reason why.
Thanks for reading. I hope you find some of these benefits to be so enticing that you too begin a gratitude journal. I’m convinced it will make a difference.
With love,
Tony.
