Benefits of a Gratitude Journal (and How to Start One)

I bet you’ve done the same as me – when things have been trying or even bad, you’ve tried to think that there’s people out there worse than you.  Sometimes it works and you can give yourself a mental kick, sometimes not.  Either way that’s okay.

But it is also where the idea of a gratitude journal comes in.  The idea is simple – when you can’t see the wood for the trees, a gratitude journal is something you can use to make a clearing.

Let’s look at the benefits of a gratitude journal, how to start one and what kind of stuff you might want to put in one.

What is a gratitude journal?

At a glance, a gratitude journal might just seem like a list of all the good stuff in your life.  That’s easy.  Or maybe a list of things you are grateful for like nice weather or your partner, your new smartphone or your kids.

But the idea is to go a bit deeper than that.  Because the power of a gratitude journal comes from being a lot more specific with what you are grateful for.  Think of it a bit like when someone writes a novel – they don’t just say ‘they walked across the room’ they say ‘they walked across the room with light steps, as if a gentle breeze blew them along and lifted them up.’  Or something like that!

So the idea is to get specific about what you are grateful for because that’s when the journal can really help the most.

The negativity bias

The idea of a gratitude journal is one that has a solid scientific background.  Top researches have found that you can get some solid benefits from keeping one.

The core reason for this is something called a negativity bias.  If someone pays you a compliment for the top you are wearing, you probably won’t remember 10 minutes later.  But if someone tells you that the top looks terrible, you’ll remember it for days, weeks even longer.

That’s because we have a habit of focusing on the negative things, criticism and problems.  It is naturally easier for most people and that means we can miss out on the job of positive things.

Instead, by keeping a gratitude journal, you can remember these things and also refer back to them when that negativity bias strikes.

What are the benefits of a gratitude journal?

Different people get slightly different benefits from keeping this kind of journal but there are a few benefits of a gratitude journal that almost everyone experiences.

Increase positivity

When you focus on the good stuff in life, you naturally feel more positive.  This can have an impact on helping you fulfil goals and ambitions, cope better with life’s problems and avoid that negativity bias.

Improve self-esteem

Constantly focusing on negative thoughts can hammer your self-esteem but using a gratitude journal can combat this.  It helps to reduce social comparisons and because you are aware of what you have to be thankful for, you are less likely to feel resentful or jealous of others.

Sleep better

An interesting study found that if you spend 15 minutes before bed writing down a few grateful sentiments, you can have a better night’s sleep.  You are less likely to spend time re-hash the bad stuff from the day and doze off easier.

Increase happiness

Seeing the good stuff in your life and relishing good experiences makes for a generally happier life.  You feel more optimistic and better about everything from your relationships to your career or even little things like your cat’s behaviour (there’s an area that needs to focus on the good, let me tell you!)

Reduce stress

After the year that was 2020, anything that helps reduce stress has to be a good thing.  And another benefit of gratitude journaling is that it can reduce stress by improving contentment, satisfaction and your ability to deal with bad stuff.

What kind of things can you put in it?

There’s no right or wrong about what you put in a gratitude journal although it is best to get a bit specific because it will help more in the long run.  Some people just write a quick note about what’s making them feel gratitude at the moment while others have a more structured approach.

One example comes from Tim Feriss in his bestseller book.  He uses categories to help him write in his journal.  His categories are:

1. Relationships – anything to do with other people that have helped or happened in the day
2. Opportunity – any opportunity that has surfaced in the day
3. Something great that happened or you saw
4. Something simple near you that you are grateful for (that could be anything from the weather to the notepad you are writing in to your cat)

Or you can have a list of prompts to help you get started when you are feeling a little stuck.  Some of these could include:

• Pick one object/person/place you truly love in your life right now and journal why you feel this way
• What food do I really appreciate and why?
• What’s the one thing I really admire about myself?
• What one event happened yesterday that I found enjoyable?

Gratitude journal examples

If you like to buy a nice notebook to start a gratitude journal or even have a guided style, here are a few ideas to get you started.

The 5-Minute Gratitude Journal: Give Thanks, Practice Positivity, Find Joy

The 5-Minute Gratitude Journal is designed to help you build a better habit of gratitude journaling and to unlock the benefits of it.  Because the prompts are short, it is perfect if you only have a few minutes during your day to focus on this and means you can quickly get into the habit.

Habit Nest The Gratitude Sidekick Journal: A Habit-Building Gratitude Journal & Mindfulness Journal

The Habit Nest The Gratitude Sidekick Journal is a practical and action-oriented gratitude journal process that is fully guided and helps you to build a habit that helps.  You will learn to hone ‘practical optimism’ and to support yourself mentally with each day’s mini-gratitude challenge.

The One-Minute Gratitude Journal

The One-Minute Gratitude Journal is another one aimed at people who don’t have time for long sessions with a gratitude journal and aims to take 1 minute to write 3-5 things you are grateful for.  It is aimed at building a habit without any guilt if you miss a day.

Good Days Start With Gratitude: A 52 Week Guide To Cultivate An Attitude Of Gratitude

The Good Days Start With Gratitude is a comprehensive process that walks you through a year of gratitude journaling to build the habit and enjoy the little things as well as the big stuff.  With daily journaling and a weekly check-in, it keeps you habit building for 52 weeks.

How to make a simple gratitude journal

Of course, you don’t need to have anything too complicated when it comes to journaling.  A simple bullet journal or even a nice notepad will work perfectly.  But to help you out, I’ve added a simple, printable gratitude journal you can use to get started.

Journaling to a better you

While it might sound a bit corny, gratitude journaling really can lead to a better you.  Because it trains us to focus on positives not negatives, we can start to overcome some of the common things that pull us down and be better equipped when the really bad stuff comes along.

Have you ever written a gratitude journal?  What did you think?