It might just change your life

Gratitude is a state of appreciation for what is valuable and meaningful to an individual. Simply put, it is the quality of being thankful. 

But did you know that the simple act of expressing gratitude can have positive effects on your mental health? One way to take advantage of this is by keeping a gratitude journal, a simple daily record of the things you are grateful for. There are no explicit rules for how a gratitude journal should be written. Quite frankly, the options are endless and will depend on what works best for you. A note on your phone can work just as well as a fancy hardcover diary. 

How exactly does one ‘gratitude journal’?

Typically, your gratitude journal should contain written or typed phrases describing things that you are thankful for each day. This can be as simple as a good cup of coffee, finding a new playlist on Spotify, or catching up with a close friend. Get started by making a habit of writing down at least one thing you are grateful for each day - you’ll soon find yourself paging back and realising just how much you have to be grateful for. 

Follow these three tips to get your gratitude habit started:

1. Choose a gratitude journal platform. This can be a hardcover diary or a note on your phone.
2. Include gratitude journaling in your daily routine. Setting aside 5-10 minutes will help you get into the habit of gratitude-ing every day. First thing in the morning is often the most peaceful time for this.
3. Write down the date at the start of each entry. This will help you keep track of your gratitude consistency-streak.

In terms of discovering what you are thankful for each day, it is best not to overthink it. Go through your previous day from start to finish and note down at least one thing that made your day a little brighter – or perhaps something you did that made someone else’s day a little brighter. 

What are the benefits of gratitude journaling?

Writing a gratitude journal is a simple (and inexpensive) process that can be easily integrated into your daily routine. Research (1, 2) has shown that simply noting down things that you are grateful for each day tends to foster positive feelings and boost your sense of wellbeing. It may even help to offset some nuisances that crept up over the day. There is also substantial evidence that supports associations between practising gratitude and improvements in life satisfaction. In fact, gratitude journaling may be as effective as other clinical therapy techniques. Additional benefits of showing gratitude include improved sleep quality and lowered stress levels, both of which may act in favour of supporting overall wellbeing.

There are six ways in which gratitude journaling supports psychological wellbeing:

1. Gratitude journaling counteracts hedonic adaptations - deliberately paying attention to good things that happen in your day prevents you from taking them for granted.
2. Gratitude journaling allows you to ‘broaden and build’ upon other positive actions and emotions - you may find yourself thinking and behaving in a more social and creative sense.
3. Gratitude journaling can cancel out negative thoughts and emotions - by focusing on positive occurrences, you inadvertently pay less attention to the negatives.
4. Gratitude journaling can motivate self-improvement - this is achieved by motivating you to practise actions that lead to self-improvement, such as exercising regularly, eating healthily, and showing empathy towards others.
5. Gratitude journaling can increase your self-esteem - gratitude often harnesses feelings of being valued by others, which will increase your self-esteem and psychological wellbeing.
6. Gratitude journaling helps you meet two out of your three basic psychological needs - specifically, gratitude is associated with relatedness and autonomy.

In summary, gratitude journaling is a way to cognitively acknowledge occurrences throughout the day that you are grateful for - with no limit on how many things you should note down. Besides the evident benefits for your wellbeing, gratitude journaling requires minimal time, equipment, and costs. So, what are you waiting for? Let today be DAY 1 in your gratitude journaling habit.

References:

1. Thankful for the little things: a meta-analysis of gratitude interventions
2. Gratitude and well-being: a review and theoretical integration