Nurture A Greater Appreciation for the Good in Your Life...Start a Gratitude Journal

Give Thanks with a GRATEFUL HEART!

Gratitude Journal

It’s easy to take the blessings of the good things and people in our lives for granted, but research suggests that consciously giving thanks for them can have profound effects on our well-being and relationships. 

Keeping a simple Gratitude Journal helps you develop a greater appreciation for what you are experiencing in your life. In fact, people who routinely express gratitude enjoy better health and greater happiness.

Consider taking 15 minutes for two to three days each week and thoughtfully consider God's blessings.  Make a habit of completing it either morning or evening. Modify to fit your needs..but make it a physical record...don't just do this exercise in your head.

Write down up to five things for which you feel grateful. The things you list can be relatively small in importance (“The breeze I felt as I took my walk today.”) or relatively large (“I just received a promotion!”). The goal of the exercise is to remember a good event, experience, person, or thing in your life—then enjoy the uplifting emotions that come with it.

1. As you write in your Gratitude journal...here are some tips:

1. Specificity is key to fostering gratitude. “I’m grateful that my co-workers brought me soup when I was sick on Tuesday” will be more effective than “I’m grateful for my co-workers.”

1. Go for depth or breadth.  Elaborating in detail about a particular person or thing for which you’re grateful carries more benefits than a superficial list of many things.

1.  Mix a balance of focus on people who have made a difference and on mindfully thinking about your daily experiences for which you are grateful.

1. Try subtraction, not just addition. Consider what your life would be like without certain people or things, rather than just tallying up all the good stuff. Be grateful for the negative outcomes you avoided, escaped, prevented, or turned into something positive—try not to take your good fortune and God's blessings in your life for granted.

1. Try to relish and savor the gifts you’ve received. Thinking of your blessings as gifts guards against taking them for granted. 

1. Savor surprises. Try to record events that were unexpected or surprising, as these tend to elicit stronger levels of gratitude.

1. Journal regularly. Whether you write every other day or once a week, commit to a regular time to journal, then honor that commitment. But…

1. Don’t overdo it. Evidence suggests writing occasionally (1-3 times per week) is more beneficial than daily journaling. That might be because we adapt to positive events and can soon become numb to them—that’s why it helps to savor surprises.

1. Here are some gratitude quotes that might be inspiring:  

“At times, our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person. Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us.” – Albert Schweitzer


“Gratitude is the fairest blossom which springs from the soul.” – Henry Ward Beecher

“Gratitude turns what we have into enough.” – Anonymous

“Gratitude is a powerful catalyst for happiness. It’s the spark that lights a fire of joy in your soul.” – Amy Collette

“Thankfulness is the beginning of gratitude. Gratitude is the completion of thankfulness. Thankfulness may consist merely of words. Gratitude is shown in acts.” – Henri Frederic Amiel

" Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace, and gratitude.” – Denis Waitley

“Joy is the simplest form of gratitude.” – Karl Barth

“In ordinary life, we hardly realize that we receive a great deal more than we give, and that it is only with gratitude that life becomes rich.” – Dietrich Bonhoeffer

“Gratitude is when memory is stored in the heart and not in the mind.” – Lionel Hampton

1. Most of ALL...Be Thankful to God for All of Your Blessings!  

1. And not surprisingly, you may find as I did, My Gratitude Journal became Prayers of Thanksgiving to God.