Gratitude Journal Template

A gratitude journal is a great way to find more happiness in life. I am going to show you a gratitude journal template that you can use to craft wonderful journals you can use to reflect back on when you need to remind yourself about the great things you have in life.

What is a Gratitude Journal?

A gratitude journal is a notebook where you write about the great things that you recognize in your life. The great thing about creating one is, the more you focus on the great things in life and write them down, the more you find to write down. That is how it worked for many people including myself.

I went through a hard time in life many years ago. You can read about it in this earlier post if you want to. It is very personal and something I was ashamed of when I was going through it. Now, I look back at it as an accomplishment I made it through in life. I give much of the credit of my great life to my gratitude journal.

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Creating a Gratitude Journal

(1) Purchase a notebook. I have used many notebooks over the years and I have a box of them. I had a friend buy me a Rocketbook Notebook that I use now. It is great because it is reusable. It is cloud-based meaning that you can write in it and using the app, upload what you write to the cloud service of your choice, and store it for reference at a later date.

Then you just spray the page you wrote on with water, wipe it off, and then reuse it. I was amazed with my Rocketbook and

you can get your own by Clicking Here. You can use any blank notebook for your gratitude journal, but the Rocketbook is great for writing a diary because once you write something personal, you can upload it to the cloud and erase it from your notebook.

(2) Start writing in your journal. This step gets easier and easier each time that you do it. It wasn’t easy for me to start my journal. I had conflicting thoughts about it. It seemed so silly to me at first. I didn’t think I could come up with things to happy about because life seemed to me like there wasn’t anything to be grateful for.

It seemed silly to me, but I was looking for anything to help me get back on track and something as cheap and easy as just writing in a notebook was something I was going to try. I had little money, no job, and at the moment…no hope for the future. I had nothing to lose.

What Do I Write in My Notebook?

This is where the magic begins. Well, I cannot truthfully call it magic. The so-called magic occurs within our brains by activating our RAS. You can read more about your Reticular Activating System by checking out this earlier post. This magic is backed by science and it is one of the concepts behind the Law of Attraction.

Now, this notebook is your safe space. You can decorate it any way you want you. Draw on the cover, cut out pictures from magazines and glue or tape them on the front of the notebook or even within the pages. Have fun with this. This is the first step to help you experience a little joy in life. Grab some coloring pencils, markers, and ink pens and just have some fun.

Getting Down to Business

The first thing you can do is open to the first page and create a heading across the top of the page. This heading is titled, “Things I am Grateful For”. On this page you are going to write five things you are happy for.

It doesn’t matter how silly these things seem. If they make you smile, then they deserve to be in your notebook. That’s the whole idea. My first journal entries were things like being happy I could see and able to walk. I was happy that I still had a roof over my head and that I had a yard with grass and trees. The first thing I wrote down was I am happy that I have a sense of humor and know many jokes.

The idea is to just write something and reflect on it. Then the next day you write down five more things and eventually you will find it easy to come up with five or more things each day. You don’t need to come up with something new each time either. You can write down the same things over and over. Just because you wrote something down once doesn’t mean that you are no longer grateful for it, right?

More Ideas to Write About

If you are having trouble discovering things to write about, then the next few ideas should make it easier for you. Just find a way to practice keeping a gratitude journal and will get easier each time. I still use one even all these years later. Find out how easy it is to find gratitude by reading this earlier post.

(1) Is there someone you are thankful for in your life? This can be anyone. You could list a loved one, a relative, you mail person, your boss, or a coworker. If they make life easier in any way then they are someone to be thankful for.

(2) What is the best thing that has happened in the last 24 hours? We experience many things throughout the day. Somethings may not seem so good, but many of the things are great. You may think you had a not-so-good day, but there are always something that went great. Maybe you had a tough time in traffic, yet didn’t get stopped by the police and receive a ticket.

(3) Maybe you have a skill that is easy for you and hard for others? This one is easy to look over because it seems second nature or even common sense to you. I have skills in carpentry that others find amazing. I can do math in my head that other people have to write out. This is just my personal examples. I am sure you have your own. Like some people have no legs, blind, or even both.

Conclusion

Gratitude journals are a great way to discover all the great things in life that you may overlook when dealing with the hustle and bustle of every day. I was at the point in life once when it seemed like nothing was great and going good. Adopting the practice of writing down all the great things that happen to me and what I already had, helped me learn how to appreciate life better.

I know that my journal helped me live life for the better. I am sure it will do the same for you. You can try it out for yourself. What do you have to lose? You cannot do it and still be the same as you are right now or you can try it and find out like many people have, that it works and it works wonders.

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==>I would love to hear your experiences, questions, and thoughts about this subject, so please feel free to leave a comment below. I normally respond within 24 hours. Feel free to share this information with anyone you think will benefit from it. Talk with you later, Greg<==