Allison Rapp

How to Use a Gratitude Journal

It's hard to make a mistake with a Gratitude Journal... here are some tips on how to keep one, and some alternative media that you can try.


hemp_journalChange your attitude one day at a time!

A gratitude journal helps you focus on what you want more of, and keeps your brain from giving you what you want less of!

When you’re trying to develop a new habit, creating a ritual around it is helpful — that’s why dedicating a journal to this specific purpose is a good idea.

So get yourself a Gratitude Journal… you can buy one! Or make one! Believe me, you can’t do this wrong! Well, actually, I guess you could steal a journal… that would be a bad start 🙂

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Here are some possibilities for how to use it:

  • Every night, list 5 things you’re grateful for.
  • Every day, write one paragraph about one thing you’re grateful for.
  • Draw pictures of what you’re grateful for.
  • Include objects — the first flower of spring, your child’s first lost tooth, the plastic room key from that weekend by Santa Cruz…whatever reminds you of your gratitude!

You don’t even have to have a physical journal —

  • Post a photo of something you’re grateful for on Facebook,
  • Send an email to someone who makes you feel grateful — someone included me in her year of expressing gratitude through email, and it made me feel great!
  • Post on someone’s facebook page — it can be just one thing you feel grateful for, that’s related to that person.
  • Call a different friend every day and leave a message on the answering machine that says why he or she is special to you.
  • Text your gratitude to someone.

Make a commitment to remember what you’re grateful for, for at least 21 days. Watch what happens during that time and see how many subtle shifts you can note. Gratitude is contagious and you’ll find yourself noticing more and more of what’s going right in your life, as soon as you turn your attention toward it!

 

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