One of the questions for TBB Asks this month was whether or not you have ever kept a gratitude journal. I said I haven’t, because I worry about coming up with new things to be thankful for every day. At the end of my post, I asked for advice about gratitude journaling and I got a few replies.
From Rebecca Jo, the self-proclaimed queen of gratitude journals:
“I always get a calendar every year that has a lot of space to write in on like a weekly area – big enough so you can try & get 3 things a day down. & then either put it by your bed, or by the coffee pot – & every morning when you wake up, or every night before you go to bed, just write down 3 things that was a blessing in the day. It’s easy to do once you get in the habit of doing it.”
From Mandie:
“I used to do my gratitude journal either right away in the morning or before going to bed. Even on the worst days, I could still find something to be thankful for.”
From Leslie:
“I keep mine by the bed and write something SOMETHING in it every night. Some days it can be a struggle to think of something I am grateful for. But when I think on it a minute, there is always something, always lots of things to be grateful for.”
From Lauren:
“…sometimes it’s the really small things – ‘the kids were in a good mood’, ‘I had a favorite food’, ‘I slept in’, etc. etc.”
Thank you to those of you who replied! I am grateful for YOU!
One of my concerns about keeping a gratitude journal is whether I would be able to come up with new items daily – for example, every day I’m grateful for my coffee and for the internet! I feel like I would do better having a journal with prompts in it to help me think of things to be grateful for. I found a few that look interesting:
And now, some things I’m currently grateful for. These prompts are from textmyjournal.com.
What smell are you grateful for today?
Coffee in the morning.
What technology are you grateful for?
The internet.
What color are you grateful for?
Teal.
What food are you most grateful for?
Soup.
What sound are you grateful for today?
Silence.
What in nature are you grateful for?
The sun, for warmth and the colors of sunsets and sunrises.
What place are you most grateful for?
My house.
What abilities are you grateful for?
Writing, being a mom.
What sight are you grateful for today?
The snow gently falling outside while I’m happily inside.
What season are you grateful for?
Summer.
Who in your life are you grateful for?
My family.
What moment this week are you most grateful for?
Turning 40.
What form of expression are you most grateful for?
Writing.
What small thing that you use daily are you grateful for?
My phone.
What friend/family member are you grateful for today?
My friend who sent me a very generous birthday present and also texted me about my blog post from yesterday.
What talent or skill do you have that you are grateful for?
Knitting, which I really need to do more of!
What are you grateful for today? Should I purchase one of the above gratitude journals?