6 tips for gratitude journaling
When it rains look for rainbows. When it’s dark look for stars.
Keeping positive is so important when it comes to creating an amazing life. In order to cultivate positivity, perhaps the most popular practice is to keep a gratitude journal.
Keep your gratitude journal by your nightstand.
Go for depth over breadth. Elaborating in a few lines about a particular thing for which you’re grateful carries more benefits than a superficial list of many things.
Get personal. Focusing on people to whom you are grateful has more of an impact than focusing on things for which you are grateful.
Use prompts. Use a format with sentences that prompt you
The best part of today was…
Today i helped…
Today I felt happy when
Savor surprises. Try to record events that were unexpected or surprising, as these tend to elicit stronger levels of gratitude.
Don’t overdo it. Setting a goal of writing in your gratitude journal once a week may be more attainable than daily journaling. Avoiding burnout is important and also due to hedonic adaptation we adapt to positive events quickly, especially if we constantly focus on them so they may not seem so special if we document them every day.
Being thankful and appreciative makes us more trusting, social and just nicer people to be around. This has an effect on our relationships and increases our social capital which in turn has a trickle down effect on many areas of our life.
The benefits of gratitude journaling
lower stress levels
better sleep
boosts health
increased self esteem
increased clarity and focus
better relationships
You don’t need to buy a fancy journal to record your entries in and you can even make notes on your smartphone if you fancy a digital diary. The important thing is to establish the habit of paying attention to gratitude-inspiring events.
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