I kept a 30-Day Gratitude Journal and Here’s What Happened – Designing a Life Well-Lived
The 30 day gratitude journal pdf is a 30-day gratitude journal that was designed to help people live a life well-lived. It has been shown to have positive effects on mental and physical health, as well as happiness.
@almestal shot this photo, and @andreasfrienholt styled it | through @kinfolk
I’ll tell you the truth. When I set out to maintain a 30-day thankfulness diary, I went a week without writing in it. I hadn’t written anything down every day since I was in high school, when I was anger writing about a boy called Sam who wouldn’t love me despite the fact that I wore his hoodie to class and dry humped his leg at school dances. In any case, I was not thankful for those things.
When my parents handed me my first journal in second grade, I began writing down what I was thankful for. Then I was thankful for things like a pleasant day, wonderful friends, a delicious breakfast, no schoolwork, a warm home, God, and Jesus (spelling as is). At the age of eight, gratitude was a lovely thing.
Time felt infinite, like though it hovered over my head, waiting to be manipulated for all eternity. Time was a gift, not a promise. I didn’t put forth a lot of effort. There were few recollections. In any case, I’m grateful to my mother for sitting down with me every night and having me write down what was significant to me that day.
At the age of eight, gratitude was a lovely thing. Time felt infinite, like though it hovered over my head, waiting to be manipulated for all eternity. Time was a gift, not a promise. I didn’t put forth a lot of effort.
Long afternoons are now drowning in a muck of to-do lists, doctor’s bills, insurance, emails, and weekends that seem shorter than the lifespans of any of my childhood goldfish. When I do have time to pamper myself, it usually consists of dozing off while watching Netflix or combining a face mask with a bath.
Self-care, on the other hand, is more than that. We are so concerned with our external organs, but what about our inside organs? At 8 p.m., I’m composing this while shoveling a Heggies pizza into my face; I still have a lot of personal stuff to do, but I’m making an effort.
So I decided to keep a gratitude notebook for 30 days and write down everything I was thankful for. Now, I’m not implying that this was a simple task. In reality, it was very difficult. After writing every day for three days, I forgot to write for a week. Because the one thing I know I’ll do every day is take my birth control pill, I had to schedule my “thankful for” time around my attempts to avoid having a kid.
What’s more, surprise! I felt thankful for it one day, and I wrote it down! I’d sit down to write one day and come up with nothing, making me feel like an ungrateful tool bag. On other days, I’d scream my heart out into the paper. I felt like a child again, jotting down anything came to mind.
These are the seven (perhaps strange/surprising) things I learned through performing a daily appreciation ritual:
I wanted to do more exercise
Now, I’m not sure whether this has anything to do with my messy gratitude notebook, but I’ve been craving movement a lot this month. I had bought a gym membership and was under the impression that I should receive what I had paid for. However, I sensed a pulsating energy that persisted.
A 2015 research by psychologists Dr. Michael McCullough of the University of Miami and Dr. Robert Emmons of the University of California looked at the physical effects of gratitude practice. Those who maintained a daily diary felt more cheerful and were more physically active. Now!
This might be plausible. I have a hard time going to the gym, but practicing daily thankfulness may help me overcome those nervous anticipatory feelings if I’m feeling more encouraged and optimistic.
I Payed Attention to the (Really) Small Things
I wanted to get to the heart of gratitude after a few days of writing; gut it out like a watermelon. Every day, I put my family and friends in my gratitude list since my OCD won’t let me forget how thankful I am for them (or they’ll die!). However, I felt compelled to learn about the little details that made me feel thankful and light.
Every day, I set a goal for myself to write down something totally unrelated that I was grateful for in my life. The scent of acrylic oil paintings, the lighting on Sundays, the Sex and the City theme music, the Gilmore Girls theme song, the brief sense of appreciation I receive when someone I love contacts me, and cold ham are among the things on the list. You know, the fundamentals.
Every day, I set a goal for myself to write down something totally unrelated that I was grateful for in my life. The scent of acrylic oil paintings, the lighting on Sundays, the Sex and the City theme music, the Gilmore Girls theme song, the brief sense of appreciation I receive when someone I love contacts me, and cold ham are among the things on the list. You know, the fundamentals.
I Wrote A Lot More Thank-You Notes
Gratitude is a habit-forming emotion. According to a Daily Health Post article, gratitude actually rewires your brain to make you happy. Our hypothalamus lights up when we practice being actively grateful. Don’t worry, I looked it up on the internet. This area of the brain controls hormones that are important for emotional reactions, body temperature, and survival (like sleep and appetite).
As a result, I began to seek out and desire new methods to be thankful. I wrote a few thank-you notes to several professional ladies I admired. I told my mother how fortunate I was to have had such a great upbringing (AND MADE HER CRY). I was conscious of giving people the high because it made me feel whole. Thank you for all the dopamine.
I’m afraid of change, but I’ve discovered that I like (and need) it
Change scares me on a typical workday. I felt my brain was going to leak out my ears when I was laid off from my work last year. However, I observed an intriguing pattern after writing down what I was thankful for every day.
I made a conscious effort to express my gratitude for newness and development through my writing. I was thankful for the difficulties that helped me grow in my relationship and at work. Failure was a blessing in my life. I appreciated the bad criticism. Everything brought me to a better, more powerful position.
I Reduced My Speed
“I kept forgetting how to start my diary since ‘I never had the time,’” I wrote in the first entry. That explains why it’s so difficult. These are things that I need to make time for. I was in a panic before I began writing. I’m starting to feel like I’ve slowed down. I’m thankful for this little respite. It made me come to a halt for no other reason than to write everything down on paper.”
I was more truthful to myself
“Today didn’t start off right,” I wrote on day three. There was no action. You know, that simply didn’t work out. Journaling makes me hazy yet honest. Kind individuals are what I’m thankful for.”
I become excruciatingly positive and a better learner as a result of this experience.
I began to write down the things I was thankful for, which at first seemed to be contradictory and terrible. What a mental whirlwind. For example, I stated that I was thankful for the challenge of my work and the opportunity to learn from the disagreement (WHO KNEW?!).
On day fourteen, I stated that I was glad I spilled coffee on my computer because it TEACHED ME HOW TO DRINK SLOWER AND USE A COFFEE MUG COVER. Who am I, exactly? Queen of the Devil’s Advocate? “Grateful for the doctor’s bill I received in the mail for my first panic attack,” I wrote on day seven. In any case, that implies I’m still alive!” I also gained a lot of knowledge.
I stated that I was thankful for a fight with my significant other because it taught me how to listen more carefully and maintain patience in the face of absurd situations. Either I’m the world’s most irritating person or I’ve discovered the key to inner peace.
Last but not least, I read in an article titled “Tips for Keeping a Gratitude Journal” that you shouldn’t overdo it. Otherwise, keeping a diary will turn into a chore. Finding a purpose to write every day and making it easy is the key. This was the one thing that drew me back day after day (okay, and the birth control reminder). Maintain your integrity and continue to do it for the sake of your inner self. It will be well worth it, I assure you.
The morning gratitude journal is a journal that helps you remember and reflect on the good things in your life.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happens when you keep a gratitude journal?
Keeping a gratitude journal can help you feel more positive and less anxious. It also helps to improve your overall mood by making you feel better about yourself.
How a gratitude journal changed my life?
Gratitude journals are a great way to keep track of the things that youre thankful for. They can help you feel more positive and grateful, which can have a huge impact on your overall happiness.
What do you write in a gratitude journal?
A gratitude journal is a book, journal, or diary in which people write about the things they are grateful for.
