Are you Thinking About Starting a Gratitude Journal? Here are 12 Reasons Why You Want to Start Today and 5 Tips to Help You Get Started.
Gratitude Journaling – A Powerful Antidote to Stress
Fighting the many adverse effects of stress can be a full-time job. Or it can be part of an intentional daily routine that you get to do. When we start a new practice, it’s common to question if it will genuinely help. Gratitude, like exercise, has been extensively studied, and there is no doubt that, as Robert A. Emmons puts it. Gratitude Works.
“If there were only two things that one committed to a practice that significantly and positively alters the stress response, exercise, and gratitude would win hands down.”
Are you interested in a brilliant life, able to manage stress so that you feel peaceful more often than not? Gratitude is a skill that provides entrance into a life of brilliance, not perfection. When you practice gratitude, your inner light projects outward that others are drawn to. This article lists the 12 reasons why you want to start a gratitude journal practice and 5 tips to help you get started.
Have you noticed how often stress is the topic in the media? It is undoubtedly a hot topic for several fundamental reasons. More people are reporting feeling anxious and in need of support. One might argue a pervasive level of uncertainty and complex variables is presented daily. Indeed, this dilemma contributes to the increase in stress in adults and children. What about the ever-present inner struggle with our goals, past, and standards? That sense of predicting a range of outcomes in our careers, families, and world has shifted. Widespread stress is affecting more people, and solutions are needed.
What Practical Solutions Reduce Stress?
Before the 2020 lockdown, you had options to deal with stress that did the trick. The rise of stressful circumstances has changed our way of destressing. Practical solutions, such as exercise, meditation, breathing exercises, and gratitude journaling, are heavy hitters in stress reduction. Specifically, a personal gratitude journaling practice is an option worth considering. Gratitude will change your life.
Gratitude – Effective to Manage Stress
What does the busy professional who is often working from home with little reprieve from work or family pressures do to combat stress? Extraordinary circumstances call for out-of-the-box thinking for self-care and stress management. The quick fix that worked pre-2020 no longer fits the bill.
Gratitude is Out of The Box
You might take a quick weekend getaway or drive a few hours away to stay at an Airbnb or a cozy bed and breakfast. You might visit your friends, go to dinner, or invite a few friends or family over for a gathering. For many, these everyday activities are on hold or curtailed significantly. With the frequent health warnings and concerns, these options have become less available and sometimes impossible to arrange.
Gratitude journaling is definitely out of the box. Let’s face it; we generally look to soothe our distress with outside fixes. We might have ice cream, buy something, or have an adult beverage or two. As an unparalleled alternative, gratitude requires quiet reflection from within that takes intention and attention. It’s also essential to make a soft commitment to a gratitude journal, where you allow for messing up. It can be a quick ten minutes or as long as you choose.
What are the benefits of Gratitude Journaling?
People who practice gratitude journaling are on to something big, and it’s simple. A journal, a pen, lots of appreciation, and ten minutes bring positive results. Robert A Emmons, in his book, Gratitude Works explains the following benefits:
- People who take the time to gratitude journal are more generous.
- They go out of their way to help people.
- They tend to appreciate and linger in the pleasure of the moment they gain from ordinary things
- People who keep gratitude journals have a keen understanding of their purpose.
- They achieve their personal goals.
- They are better able to deal with daily stress.
- They are more likely to heal from trauma and live the life they want.
- They have more secure and loving relationships.
- They are more resilient.
- They have confidence.
- They have secure self-worth.
- They have more energy.
Hopefully having more secure and loving relationships and a being able to better manage stress has convinced you that gratitude journaling is more than worth your time and efforts.
Have you Started a Gratitude Journal and Then Got Frustrated with Yourself Because you Did Not Stay on Target?
So many of the people I speak with tell me they would love to start but don’t know-how. Sometimes the problem is started, stopping, and then getting down on themselves for not following through.
Consider the unreasonable expectation to do something every day. Let’s be real here. It is beneficial to have daily habits that make our self-care intentional headway. But, real-life happens, and nothing is worse than giving yourself a hard time for being human. Yes, keeping commitments is essential and necessary. Just think of flexibility as your friend. When it doesn’t go as you planned, be kind to yourself and move on.
The problem is the negative self-talk we default to when we do not keep our high perfection standards. That is why flexibility will be one of your best-kept secrets to stress management. Let yourself be flexible and go back to it tomorrow. It’s better to do it tomorrow than to be upset and not do it at all.
5 Tips to Get Started A Gratitude Journaling Practice Started
- Set a reasonable expectation for your gratitude practice
- Find a journal you will want to use.
- Keep it will you to write when the moment hits you to write.
- Give yourself permission to mess up and forget or not follow through
- Every time you do your gratitude journal writing, give yourself an inner-party- praise yourself, celebrate and have fun with it.
The Art of Gratitude Journaling is Therapeutic
Writing is an excellent activity to gain emotional benefits. Your journal can be as unique or simple as you choose. It just needs to serve the purpose of recording your thoughts and the date.
It will become a diary of your gratitude journey to reflect, inspire, and celebrate the countless opportunities and blessings you will discover. Record lists of who you are grateful for and why. Record events you appreciate. Remember to include the simple and small things you notice. Nothing is irrelevant or unimportant.
Your journaling practice works best when you handwrite. You think a lot slower than you write. Let it be the time you relish by slowing down. Imagine that? Take time to dial it all down for a few. Now that is out of the box of our instant millisecond speed of daily functioning.
Gratitude journaling offers fantastic stress-reducing benefits. Individuals who practice are more generous. They go out of their way to be helpful and have increased confidence and a sense of purpose. The ability to stop and mindfully appreciate the most ordinary things in life is stress-reducing. Productivity increases as a result of intentionally practicing the art of writing about are appreciated. Imagine the positive feelings gained by having more energy and completing intended goals. Writing in your journal and being grateful helps increase your stress threshold and increases resilience. In this article, you learned the 12 Reasons Why You Want to Practice Gratitude Journaling and Five Tips to Get Started.
