You won’t be surprised to hear that feeling grateful improves your life. It makes sense. Thinking about what’s going well, what makes you happy, and what’s beautiful in your world elevates your mood and helps you feel stronger. A gratitude journal is a great tool for intensifying and remembering those feelings.
According to Robert Emmons and Michael McCullough, the leading researchers on Gratitude, their research on gratitude journaling has shown benefits such as:
- Greater connection to others
- Increased personal joy
- Better Sleep
- Exercising more regularly
- Lowering symptoms of physical pain
Keeping a list of things for which you are grateful is a good start, but what’s more effective is to feel the gratitude deeply. Describe something specific. Involve as many sensory memories as you can. What did it look like? Sound like? What was its texture? What did it taste like? Smell like? How did you feel when you experienced it?
It matters less what you write; it matters more what you experience. Take a moment and let it sink in.
Review your gratitude Journal on a regular basis – at least once a week. As you review, look for people to thank. Spread the gratitude by acknowledging those people using whatever medium they would most appreciate (card, banner, text, email message, phone call, etc.).
“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life,” wrote Melody Beattie, “It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos into order, confusion into clarity.”
In your journal:
- Each time you make an entry, describe something for which you are grateful.
- Describe your favorite food.
- Describe a favorite memory with a treasured person.