6 Benefits for keeping a gratitude journal
Hello Friend,
Has anyone ever told you that you need to get a gratitude journal? Well, I won't beat that dead horse but let me share with you the benefits I've received from keeping gratitude journal for the last 5 years.
#1 Automatic Daily Wins
Completing my morning routine guarantees that I begin the day with a win. The details of my morning routine may change overtime, but my gratitude ritual remains.
My gratitude journal is the physical anchor for this ritual. Since it's always on my desk, it's a reminder to pause, think, record and express my gratitude. Having this morning routine sends me with positive momentum to conquer the day.
#2 Fuel for prayer 🙏🏾
Prayer can be overwhelming at times. Or am I the only one? Sometimes when I set aside time to pray I get easily distracted by my fleeting thoughts. Thankfully, my gratitude journal makes the discipline of prayer more of a pleasure than a pain. It fuels my praying, just like gas does for driving. Once my tank is full, I can be focused in prayer.
#3 Superhero Vision
Before writing in my journal, I look around for inspiration. In my room, I see a cubby...with two shelves...one of which that has an iron on it. Boom! Just like that I have a gratitude to record in my journal - I am grateful for my working iron.
Sometimes I let my eyes search outside the window. I see grass...it's green...and it's cut. Boom! Another gratitude - I am grateful for the apartment maintenance team.
This approach increases my awareness and appreciation for the "little" and "big" things.
#4 Powerful prose
You can see from #3 above that my entries are short and specific. That is by design because I use rapid logging to record my gratitudes.
My goal for each gratitude is to be short enough to fit on a single line but detailed enough to be specific. This helps me to define my thoughts concisely and is especially useful in my reflection routine.
#5 Time Travel
Unfortunately I don't have the best detailed memory. So I lean on my reflection routine to appreciate the past. When I want to go back in time to reflect, my gratitude journal is the time machine that quickly transports me there.
Glancing back at my gratitudes let's me identify patterns, draw conclusions and discover meaning. Reviewing my entries through reflection is like an extra scoop of joy that I get to relive.
#6 Physical Creation
We can do just about anything digitally nowadays and being an IT professional, I appreciate technology. But there is something about writing with a pen and paper.
Fidgeting with a pen while I think, opening a notebook to the next blank page and seeing how my handwriting has changed overtime is very satisfying. This is definitely the greatest benefit.
How about you? What do you like best about your gratitude journal?
Keep writing my friend,
Tim