Gratitude Changes Your Day
How do you start your day? What are the first things you think about in the morning when you wake up? Have you considered how having a grateful heart and attitude will change your daily outlook? In this post, we will look at the benefits of gratitude and how writing in your daily gratitude journal changes your attitude to gratefulness.
Have you ever had one of those days that start when nothing goes right? Your kids don’t get ready on time, the dog runs out the door, you can’t find your car keys. When these little, but stressful things start to happen at the beginning of our day, it’s easy to start thinking negatively about the whole day.
But, rewind the tape (or the DVD or electronic video as we might say now), let’s start the day again. Let’s start the day with 5 minutes of writing in your daily gratitude journal. Taking just a few minutes to write down one or two things you are grateful for. If you start to do this every day, you will notice a change in your attitude and perspective. It’s hard to be angry and upset for long with a grateful spirit.
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If you don’t already have one, a daily gratitude journal is a perfect way to remind yourself to be grateful and keep track of all the wonderful things in your life you have to be grateful for.
3 Benefits of Gratitude
You focus on your blessings, not your disappointments
We all have disappointments in our life, it’s part of life. If we don’t take time to write down what we are grateful for, it’s easy to become overwhelmed by the negatives we face every day.
A daily gratitude journal will help you stop focusing on only your disappointment and see your blessings, too. Over time, you should be able to re-read your journal entries and see with amazement how God has worked through your life and blessed in so many ways. If you faithfully write in your gratitude journal daily, you will be surprised how much you have to be grateful for that you have forgotten.
Stop comparing yourselves to others
Being grateful means we recognize our own value and importance. We don’t need to compare ourselves with others. We each have our own path and journey to walk. Don’t assume that because someone “appears” to you to “have it all” their life is perfect.
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Focus on your blessings and don’t worry about others. When we start to compare ourselves with others, we steal our own joy and happiness because we wish we had what others had. We wish we had a nicer house or a better car, we wish we had a better job or so many other things.
Stop today, and write down what you have to be grateful for. Look and around and see the many, many blessings you have. Don’t compare yourself to others because comparison is a never-ending game you will always lose.
Reduced stress and worry
Finally, when we focus on being grateful we will have less stress and worry. It’s hard to be worried all the time when we are being grateful. Worry and stress and usually signs of being too focused on ourselves.
Being grateful will show you the many blessings you have been given and when you feel that stressed or worried, you can be confident your troubles will not overwhelm the God who has given you so much.
When you start to feel worried and stressed, grab your gratitude journal and start writing about what makes you grateful.
Tips for Starting a Gratitude Journal
Starting a gratitude journal is easy. You can start a gratitude journal today. Here are a few tips to get you started:
- Get a simple spiral notebook and start writing what you are grateful for. If you prefer, you can use a pretty journal like this Five Minute Gratitude Journal or this Inspirations Gratitude Journal that asks you questions and gives you prompts to write about.
- You can also write what you are grateful for in your daily planner. I have an extra space at the bottom of my planner that I will be using to write what I am thankful for each day.
- Choose a set time every day to write down your gratitude thoughts. If you write in your gratitude journal at about the same time daily, you are more likely to make it a habit.
- Don’t overthink it when you write in your gratitude journal. Some days you may have many deep and profound feelings to write, other days your feelings may be simple. The goal is to help us all have a grateful spirit by reminding ourselves daily of our many blessings.
- Review and re-read your journal occasionally (especially when you feel sad and negative) to see the many blessings you have been given.
Gratitude Journal Prompts
Sometimes, the hardest part of writing is just getting started. To start a daily gratitude journal, many times, it’s easier to write when you have a prompt or a question to answer when you start writing. Here are some gratitude journal prompts you can use:
- I am grateful today for …
- My family is important to me because…
- I enjoy my job when I …
- One thing I learned today…
- This morning, I am grateful for…
- This evening, I am thankful for…
- The best thing that happened today was …
- What I want to remember about today …
- My Bible verse for today is…
- I am inspired by …
- What does gratitude mean to me? What does thankfulness mean to me?
- A memory or experience from my childhood I am thankful for…
- I am thankful for my brothers/sisters because…
- I appreciate my parents…
- I am thankful that growing up…
You can use these prompts, create your own prompts, and reuse them as you like in your gratitude journal.
To get started with Gratitude journals, try the 100 Days of Gratefulness Journal or The Gratitude Devotional Journal. These journals help you write your gratitude thoughts every day.
Here are a few journals available in the Smart Mom Life Shop.
Starting a daily gratitude journal will give you the many benefits of gratitude in your life including helping you focus on your blessings, stop comparing yourself to others and reducing your worry and stress. So, go start your gratitude journal today.
Your turn…
Do you have a gratitude journal? How has writing a gratitude journal changed your life?
Though many people confuse the concept, gratitude is not based on how much we have, but how much we can appreciate what we have, rather than complaining about what we don’t have.
Only hen we learn to do that, we’ll find that happiness will never depend on exterior circumstances, but what is in our heart! Either if we use a journal, or simply a daily prayer, we should always have grateful hearts! — Great post; thanks for sharing!
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I love mine! I bought one from MoneySavingMom.com and I really enjoy writing in it and looking back on it.
Nice post! A gratitude journal is so important to helping me keep the right perspective, especially during those hard days. I have noticed a big difference in my level of contentment and joy when I intentionally look for those things I can be thankful for. I also, agree that it really does help reduce stress.