Today I am grateful for…
1.______________________________________________________
2.______________________________________________________
3._______________________________________________________
Gratitude Journal Tips:
Be mindful. Research by psychologist Sonja Lyubomirsky and others suggests that journaling is more effective if you first make the conscious decision to become happier and more grateful. “Motivation to become happier plays a role in the efficacy of journaling,” says Emmons.
Go for depth over breadth. Elaborating in detail about a particular thing for which you’re grateful carries more benefits than a superficial list of many things.
Get personal. Focusing on people to whom you are grateful has more of an impact than focusing on things for which you are grateful.
Savor surprises. Try to record events that were unexpected or surprising, as these tend to elicit stronger levels of gratitude.
Make it a habit. Writing occasionally (once or twice per week) is more beneficial than daily journaling. In fact, one study by Lyubomirsky and her colleagues found that people who wrote in their gratitude journals once a week for six weeks reported boosts in happiness afterward; people who wrote three times per week didn’t. “We adapt to positive events quickly, especially if we constantly focus on them,” says Emmons. “It seems counterintuitive, but it is how the mind works.”
Gratitude Walk:
You simply take a walk—outside, in a mall, at your office, on a treadmill—and while walking you think about all the things, big and small, that you are grateful for.
The research shows you can’t be stressed and thankful at the same time so when you combine gratitude with physical exercise, you give yourself a double boost of positive energy. You flood your brain and body with positive emotions and natural anti-depressants that uplift you rather than the stress hormones that drain and slowly kill you.
Gratitude Jar
Write down what you are grateful for and add these “Gratitude Notes” to a jar.
What Do you Do with Your Jar? * Save it for Thanksgiving and read them as a family. * Read them at the end of each year. * Read a few whenever you’re having a tough day or need a pick me up. * Pick your favorites and frame them
What is your favorite way to practice gratitude?