From relieving stress and mental fatigue to making you feel happier, gratitude is the panacea and making gratitude journaling a part of your daily routine is the key. Now the list of benefits is endless, still, a lot of people struggle to maintain one. Is it because they are not aware of gratitude journaling or its benefits? Not at all. Most of them start with a gratitude journal but give up too soon, just like any other new year resolution. This is often because they start with some rigid rules that they can’t keep up for too long. They fail to understand that there are no set rules for gratitude journaling. All that it demands is consistency. That’s it. Since it’s your approach that is stopping you to stick to gratitude journaling or even getting started with it, the following checkpoints will help you to lessen the feeling of being overwhelmed and get started with gratitude journaling.
1. Frequency
While it is said that to build any habit, we must do it consistently for at least 21 days, it is not necessary to apply this while you are doing your gratitude journaling. Many people do a 30-day gratitude journaling challenge, which works as well. But there is no guarantee that it will work for you as well. It is seen that journaling just twice or thrice a week can be more beneficial than doing it daily. Often journaling daily can be monotonous, which is not our goal. So set specific days in a week where you will journal without skipping it.
2. Adding More ‘Why’s
One of the most common approaches is to list five things you are grateful for, which becomes more of a task for people to force themselves to look for five different things. Instead, list down just one thing. The idea is to choose depth over breadth and not be a generalist. Mentioning why you are grateful for that thing helps you to reflect more clearly, forces you to have deep self-talk. You will not believe how wonderfully it will change your perception of even the smallest things.
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3. Choose Time and Place
This is one of the crucial yet the most ignored things of all. Don’t see when other people journal. Choose what suits you the most. It could be day, night, or even noon. The most suitable time is when you can switch on your receiving mode and can completely immerse yourself into recollecting all the positive things. Choose a quiet corner where you can devote time to write a gratitude journal.
Recommended reading: 5 Powerful Ways Journaling Changes Your Life
4. The Right Format
While some can write just a few sentences, some can go up to a couple of pages. Well, there is no problem with any of those as long as one can express genuine emotions for the things you are grateful for. Always make sure that you feel that emotion while writing your thoughts. Don’t put too much pressure on writing in bullet points or para form; just write your heart out. Choose the format that suits you the best, and remember that you always have an option to switch to another format. The key is to keep going.
5. Journal Prompts
For someone who is a complete beginner and is unable to find things to be grateful for, journal prompts can be a great starter. They are nothing but some question that makes you go back to your memory lane and think of memories like your first award, the first time you travelled by flight, and so on. These prompts make you rethink those little things that you had forgotten or may be taken for granted. And thus, you can now express gratitude for them.
To Conclude,
Writing a gratitude journal is one of the most underrated things. It’s more than an upgraded version of ‘dear diary’ that we used to write in school. A lot of people use it as a means of positive and effortless manifestation since it is based on the idea of focusing on all the good and positive aspects, and so can you.
