I talk a lot about gratitude here on the blog, and I really do believe it’s a superpower that we all have. Today, I want to share some tips with you on how to use a gratitude journal.
If you haven’t already read it, I highly recommend that you read this post – LAW OF ATTRACTION AND GRATITUDE, where you’ll learn why gratitude is so important.
Here’s the most important thing you need to know. When you focus your attention on gratitude, you naturally attract more and more to be grateful for.
How to use your gratitude journal
You’ll want to focus on gratitude for the things you already have and the things you want to attract. Things to focus on are…
- Gratitude specific to each day
- What are you most grateful for?
- Who are you grateful for?
- Gratitude for the things you want to attract into your life
- Gratitude for goal progress
I’ll talk more about each type of gratitude below, but first, I want to share a few tips on how to best use your gratitude journal.
The Gentle Gratitude Workbook
I’ve created a special workbook that you can use throughout the month and beyond to further support you – The Gentle Gratitude Workbook is available to buy from my ETSY SHOP. If you’re a premium subscriber, go to my Courses and Downloads page to get your storewide 50% discount.
Choosing your gratitude book
Realistically, you can use any old notebook that you have knocking around, but I personally think having a really nice, special notebook will make this practice that you’ll enjoy doing.
I like to choose a notebook that looks nice and feels nice and has a nice pen to write in your journal with. For me, this makes the practice feel like a treat.
When to use your gratitude journal
I recommend having a set time of day to write in your gratitude journal. For me, this would be in the evening when I’m in bed, so I keep my gratitude journal beside my bed with the pen on top.
Other people have told me they like to write in their gratitude journal as part of their morning routine or in the evening once the kids have gone to bed and the house is quiet.
There’s no best time, but having a set time to use your journal will help you to form a habit.
Do I have to keep a gratitude journal?
No, you don’t have to do anything like this if you don’t want to. When I first started to focus more on gratitude, I kept a gratitude journal for a good couple of years. I wrote in it daily without fail.
This daily practice forced me to build a really positive gratitude habit.
Now, I don’t write in my journal daily, but I still have that time once I’m in bed to focus on gratitude. I usually lie back on the pillows, close my eyes and spend time enjoying the feeling of gratitude.
I definitely recommend the journal if this is something new to you, so that you really train your mind to focus on what you’re grateful for.
Gratitude specific to each day
I make it a rule to focus on at least 3 things that I’m grateful for, specific to that day.
So not the big things like, I’m so grateful for my family. Instead, it would be something like… I’m so grateful that I got to have lunch with my sister today.
Even on days when you feel like everything has gone wrong or you’ve had a really horrible day, you can find 3 things to be grateful for, specific to that day.
When you focus yourself to find 3 or more things, then you make a powerful shift in your energy.
You raise your vibrations (you feel better, even if it’s just a tiny bit). It makes you see that there are positive things still in your life.
Also, by focusing on things that are specific to each day, forces you to pull out small bits from your life that you would normally not pay attention to.
Example of gratitude specific to each day…
- I’m so happy and grateful that I got to have breakfast with my son
- I’m so happy and grateful for the payments made to my business today
- I’m so happy and grateful that I got to see my sister and niece for a couple of hours today
What are you most grateful for?
I also like to answer this question every day – What am I most grateful for? This can be anything you want. It doesn’t need to be specific to that day.
For example – I’m most grateful that I have an amazing family who loves me, supports me and wants to spend time with me.
Who are you grateful for?
Most people when asked this question can come up with obvious people such as family members, their spouse, friends… but I want you to also think outside of this immediate circle of loved ones.
- People you work with
- People who make your life easier
- People who keep your workplace, community clean, safe, attractive…
- People who supply services to you
- People who have been involved in making something you use
EXAMPLE – This morning, my bins were emptied. Where I live, our household bins are emptied every other week. I’m so grateful that I live somewhere where this happens. Imagine what it would be like if our bins never got emptied and there was rubbish all over the streets. This is something seemingly small but actually very important.
Gratitude for things you want to attract into your life
Think about the things you want to attract into your life and then focus on gratitude for these things.
You can do this in two different ways. You can express gratitude as if you already have what you want, and you can express gratitude for knowing it’s on the way.
Here’s an example of what I mean…
- I want to attract a 6-figure business profit for this tax year
- I’m so happy and grateful that I have a 6-figure profit business
- I’m so happy and grateful that I’m attracting a 6-figure profit business
Gratitude for goal progress
I always encourage writing down your goals. Each day, look at those goals you’ve written down and then in your gratitude journal, write gratitude for the progress made on those goals.
- Weight loss goal – I’m so excited and grateful that I am now 2 pounds closer to my ideal weight
- New car savings goal – I’m so happy and grateful that I have added £500 to my new car savings fund
Not only are you expressing gratitude and making yourself more of a match for what you want, but you’re also spending that extra time focusing on the goals you want to achieve. This is a law of attraction win-win.
Gratitude is your superpower – The more you use it, the more you are a match for attracting even more to be grateful for – Wendy Tomlinson
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More on Gratitude
I’ve already written a few posts on gratitude here on the blog that I think you’ll find helpful.
- Gratitude Affirmations – Helping you to create positive gratitude thoughts
- Creating a gratitude list and why you should – Another powerful gratitude exercise
- And as I mentioned earlier, my Law of Attraction and Gratitude post. This post explains why gratitude is so important
- Daily EFT GRATITUDE Exercises
- And if you’re a business owner, I recommend reading Why Gratitude in Business is So Important
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