We all know someone who seems able to lift the mood in any room they walk into. Everyone likes them, you feel happier after spending time with them, and you wonder how on earth they manage to be so upbeat about everything all of the time.
How do they radiate so much positive energy?
The answer may well be gratitude journaling.
To be clear, I’m not subtly claiming to be one of these magnetic mood boosting personalities I just described. However, shortly after I started my gratitude journal, I noticed a change in the way people engaged with me. Or maybe I changed the way I engaged with them. Something changed, anyway, and for the better.
I made the conscious decision to start writing a gratitude journal back in some of my darkest days, and the world has seemed sunnier ever since. It’s given me more reasons to be happy, positive, optimistic, and… well, grateful!
I think gratitude journaling is hugely underrated. Everyone should do it. The mental health benefits are amazing, it costs virtually nothing, and takes like, 5 minutes a day.
So why aren’t you doing it yet? Let me convince you to start.
Why You Need to Start
I used the word ‘need’ on purpose.
Gratitude journaling is all about reframing the way you see the world – shifting your focus from what’s lacking, to what is already great.
Think about it. If you spend a significant amount of your time wishing things were different, you’re going to be miserable. How can you not be? Negative thoughts lead to a negative mood.
I don’t want that for you!
On the other hand, if you spend a significant amount of your time smiling about the things you love in your life, you’re going to be happier. Because the reverse is also true: positive thoughts lead to a positive mood.
This is about your mental health, so you really do need it.
You may or may not already know that I was told I could neve have children in my twenties. This turned out to be complete rubbish, but at that time it was devastating. My relationship broke down because of it.
I spent years living under a black cloud. I spent less time with friends, the time I did spend with friends always felt more difficult than it had before, I wasn’t getting on in work, I couldn’t make it past the first couple of dates, etc. I was looking down into a black hole so of course the only way I was going to go was further down it.
Gratitude journaling taught me to look up and see the sky again. My life improved enormously once I picked up a pen.
How to Start
the beautiful thing about writing a gratitude journal is that you can’t get it wrong. It’s personal to you, so while you can follow someone else’s lead, you can also come up with your own system.
A lot of people will tell you to do it every day, or every week, or in the morning when you wake up, or at night before you go to sleep. Fine, that’s what works for them, but you are your own person, so don’t feel obliged to follow a set of ‘rules’ you found on the internet.
That said, I will tell you how I do it, but I’m not saying this is how you should do it too.
Choose the Perfect Journal
This is super important.
Spend a little bit of time finding a notebook or journal that you absolutely love 😍
You’re going to be writing some very personal and very private things in here. Don’t just choose a random moleskin you were given three Christmases ago.
Finding the perfect journal makes it feel special, and it will encourage you to use it, too. It doesn’t take long to get into the habit, and if you are anything like me you will start enjoying it pretty quickly and won’t need any more encouragement.
Nevertheless, finding a beautiful book to write in makes the whole process even more enjoyable.
Pick a Place to Write
Some people have a specific place they like to keep their journal, and this is the only place they write. It helps them get into the right frame of mind.
Personally, I have a few different spots depending on when I am journaling, but I wouldn’t just do it anywhere.
You need somewhere you can find a little bit of peace, a calm space, or a space where you feel content. I have a covered porch on the front of my house with seating built in, so I use that sometimes. I also write in bed, which is a classic, or at my desk.
I think it is important to be alone to journal, so I would never do it on a train or in a café or anything like that, but that’s just me.
Work Out Your Routine
While you don’t have to have the same routine as me (or anyone else), you do need a routine of some sort.
I write in my journal daily, but you might want to do it weekly, bi-weekly, three times a week, whatever. It should fit your lifestyle.
For me, writing short daily entries helps my mind stay positive and helps me keep the routine going. I don’t always write at the same time of day, but it will always either be in the morning before work, on my lunch break, or right before bed. It depends how I’m feeling.
Others are more rigid in when their journaling time fits into their day, but I like to adapt mine depending on what is going on.
For example, if I know I have a busy/long/tough day ahead, or I’m anxious about something, I’ll do it in the morning. On a regular day it usually ends up happening at night when the day is over so I can look back on it and pick out the positives. The lunch hour slot is rarer for me, but I might use it if I’m struggling after the morning or I’m feeling a bit directionless. It just depends.
What to Write
Again, no right or wrong here. You can write about anything you like and completely freestyle it.
However, there are structures and frameworks available to help if you need them. I tend to use a mixture of these and freestyling, based on what’s going on in my life.
Some days, it’s really easy to write a few things I am grateful for and why. They don’t need to be earth shattering. Other days I run out of ideas and look for help from frameworks or prompts like these:
Three Good Things
Most people have tried this one.
The idea is that each day, you write down 3 good things that happened, and also why. On bad days this can be tough, but it trains your brain to notice the positives, however small, in otherwise negative situations.
On good days the positive things might be quite significant, like a bonus at work, or a personal sporting achievement. On more challenging days it may simply be that you got to your office just before it started raining and so didn’t get wet.
Past, Present, and Future
This is a broader look at your life and why you should be thankful.
It’s nice and simple to do:
- Past – What are you grateful for that has already happened?
- Present – What are you thankful for right now?
- Future – What are you looking forward to or hopeful about?
It’s a nice fully rounded framework that can make you feel really lucky, actually. For some reason, I find myself turning to the Past, Present and Future framework mostly at weekends.
The Four As of Gratitude
This isn’t strictly for journaling, but you can easily adapt the Four As into gratitude journal ideas:
- Appreciation: Value the people in your life that make it better
- Acknowledgement: Consciously acknowledge good things that have happened to you today
- Admiration: Think about the qualities of other people who inspire you
- Affection: Show your love for the people closest to you in some way, big or small
Pick one per day, or do them all each day for a while. Up to you.
Prompts
A quick online search will bring up countless gratitude journal prompts. Some are painfully obvious, though, and therefore not much help.
Here are a few unique well crafted prompts I have written in the front of my journal for when inspiration escapes me:
- What is something difficult you’ve been through that taught you a valuable lesson you’re now grateful for?
- Think of a daily routine or chore. What part of it could you reframe as something to appreciate?
- Who challenged you recently — and how might their actions have helped you grow?
- What’s something about your current self that your past self would be proud of or excited by?
- What small detail in your environment (a sound, texture, scent, or light) are you grateful for right now?
- Who has quietly supported you behind the scenes without seeking recognition?
- When was the last time someone surprised you with kindness, even in a small way?
- What’s something you once took for granted that you now deeply appreciate?
- What personal strength or trait helped you get through a tough time recently?
- What’s something you’re looking forward to — and why does that excite or comfort you?
You will eventually find a few of your own that you find most useful.
Still Not Convinced?
If you aren’t already on Etsy looking for a brand new gratitude journal to write in, then let me finish by telling you that journaling is backed by many studies.
It works. Doing this will improve your mood.
Gratitude journaling is one of the most well researched practices in positive psychology. Studies have shown that it has all sorts of benefits, including:
- Boost Mental Well-being
- Improves Sleep
- Strengthens Relationships
The Three Good Things framework is one specific approach that has been studied with positive outcomes, but that’s just one example. There are many.
So there you have it. I have given you my own personal experience of gratitude journaling. I have given you an explanation of what it is and how to do it. I have even given you scientific evidence that it works.
The only thing stopping you now, is you.