Does gratitude journaling work?
Like many of us, I can spin on negatives and spend too much time focusing on everything that could go wrong. I started gratitude journaling and saw a huge improvement in my general outlook, as well as my relationship with my wife, children and extended family.
Spinning out of control
We recently quit our jobs in the San Francisco Bay Area to move back to the UK and start our own business. Now, there is a lot to be worried about here. Should we have left? Did we make the right decision to leave our jobs? Will we regret it?
It was easy to spin and become frustrated, feeling that our new life was slow to start. For me, gratitude journaling did work and helped me to move past these frustrations, so let me share how I did it.
My gratitude journaling prompts
Here are the daily prompts that I find helpful.
- Three things that I am grateful for
- My favourite thing that happened today
- Something that I could have done better
- What I will do tomorrow to make the day great
The simple gratitude journaling structure helps me to focus on the good things in life and things I usually take for granted. The more I do it, the more I become focused on everyday sources of pleasure. The difference in my emotional state and ability to live in the moment is dramatic.
The key for me is being as specific as possible. I find this helps to avoid the feeling of just going through the motions. For example:
“I am grateful that my parents were able to look after the kids today while we went out to a restaurant. It gave us quality time together that would have been expensive and hard to justify without their help. We are lucky to have a great support network.”
Concluding thoughts
By practicing gratitude journaling (almost daily), I feel happier about my everyday life and relationships. It also helps me to find joy in my life with my kids. So often, my favourite part of the day is something one my children did or said.
Try it out for yourself. It takes 5 minutes and I can honestly say it's made me a better person. You can use a pen and paper, but I like to use the Intelligent Change app. Check out their products at intelligentchange.com.
Don't forget to shop CBD before you go!
