How to Start a Gratitude Journal

Have you ever started a gratitude journal before? It might feel like a foreign concept, if not daunting. These tips will help you get into the right mindset and show you how to start your journey with a gratitude journal.

Figure out what is most meaningful to you

This is the best place to start. Maybe it’s doing something for someone else or maybe it’s meditating. Start your journal by figuring out what is important for you. What are your passions, goals, and values? Think about the things that are most meaningful to you. You might have trouble getting started with writing in your journal but fret not because there are many ways to get inspired. It can be helpful to think of your values, passions, and goals while trying to find topics to write about in your journal.

Keep it in a place that you can always access

Put your gratitude journal where you can see it every day, like on your work desk or by the kitchen where you eat breakfast. It can be anywhere that is private and easy to reach for you. We keep ours at the nightstand by the bed every night so before we go to sleep, we can easily write down whatever is in our mind. You can even start off by writing only two things each night to make it easier for yourself, but once again, try to make this a daily ritual.

This is one of the best habits you will ever develop because it will help retrain your mind to look at your life with gratitude instead of despair, and therefore help build your self-confidence and improve your self-esteem. Tiny habits can have huge effects. The key to building a tiny habit is to make it so small that there is no resistance. If you are trying to create a big change, you will be frustrated by all the ways your old self keeps sabotaging your efforts. The way to make change inevitable is to make it automatic, effortless, and easy. Once the tiny habit is in place, the rest becomes easy.

Allot 5 minutes each day

The important thing is forming the habit. You don’t have to worry about getting it right or saying anything brilliant or profound. Just 5 minutes either in the morning or at night with your journal is enough. Also, choose a place wherein you won’t be distracted. You could also be more ambitious and try to write a longer entry, listing things that happened that day that you’re grateful for. Or you could try to list three good things that happened at work and two good things that happened at home.

Here are some ideas for how to spend 5 minutes every morning with your journal in front of you, with no distractions. Write down everything that happened the day before that you’re grateful for. If your list is short and you can’t think of anything, remember that it doesn’t matter if your list is short. Just write down “I’m grateful for my family, and also I’m grateful for my health, and also I’m grateful for my house.” It’s not important what exactly you’re grateful for; just write whatever comes to mind. You might be surprised by how quickly your list grows as you start thinking about all the things you’ve got going on in your life right now.

Takeaway

This will not only keep you thankful but also help keep your mind clear throughout the day with fewer things weighing on your mind. We find that when our mind is cluttered, this grounds us back no matter what emotion we’re feeling.