Developing an attitude of gratitude has been recognized by wellness experts and psychologists as one of the most basic things everyone can do to improve their lives.
It helps in stress reduction, motivation and keeping oneself healthy.
In order to form the habit of being grateful everyday, there are certain changes you can make in your daily routine.
For one you can start keeping a gratitude journal.
A gratitude journal is different from a normal journal – which is a record of the things that happen to you day by day.
A gratitude journal is a record of specifically the things that you feel grateful for at the moment.
It has the double benefit of making you feel more aware of yourself and the things you are grateful for, as well as provide a record of your happy thoughts, which you can easily go back to and read when you are feeling down.
You will find that reading your past entries of gratitude will lift up your spirits.
Tips If You Want To Start Your Own Gratitude Journal:
Do not put off having your gratitude journal.
Wherever you are in your life – whether you’re high on being at the peak of your career or feeling lonely and empty-nesting – you will benefit from recording your thoughts of gratitude.
Don’t argue that you’re too busy. You dictate the length of your entries. If you can only spare a few minutes a day to write, so be it. The important thing is to start.
Second, write in your gratitude journal at least every other day or four times a week.
This will get you into the habit of thinking grateful thoughts.
Third, be thorough.
When writing in your gratitude journal, write down EVERYTHING that you feel thankful for.
Start with the obvious.
You may write you are grateful for the nice weather today, for the peace and quiet at home, for this nice cup of coffee in front of you.
As you reflect, you will find yourself filling your gratitude journal with grateful thoughts about the not-so-obvious. You may think that you hate your job or that you have a list of complaints about your family.
When you take the effort to sit down and think about what you are grateful for, you may find that you are grateful for your salary and the fact that you can buy nice clothes and food.
You may write that you are grateful for being able to provide for your children and send them to school.
You may also find yourself writing that you are grateful for your noisy children for making you laugh.
You may also find your attention turning inwards and write that you are grateful for your health, your values, and your strength.
There are days when you will feel particularly annoyed or stressed and you will not feel like writing.
Remember that these are the days when you most need to work on feeling grateful.
So go on, take a deep breath and open your gratitude journal.
Feeling grateful for what you already have helps you enjoy life so much more. It rids your mind of crippling and damaging negativity and instead fills it with feelings of happiness, contentment and positivity. Unleash the true power of being grateful through starting your very own gratitude journal.