So, I keep two journals and I’m pretty diligent on writing in them almost daily, I do miss days, but I don’t worry about it. I probably have about 12 completed journals; I started in my 20s and sometimes stopped for a few years but always started back up. One journal I use and kind of vent, it’s like my second therapist, only it doesn’t give me any advice. Then I just started a gratitude journal. I did not know really how to start this, so I searched for ideas on daily prompting questions and glued them to the front few pages and I just choose I question per day to answer. I’ve read up on keeping gratitude journals and every article I’ve read talks about how positive it is and how good it should make you feel. They say nothing about having a venting journal too, so am I doing it wrong? Is there really a right or wrong answer? I haven’t really noticed any significant change in me, but I’ve only been doing the gratitude journal for about a week, so that’s really not enough time produce any real change in my opinion. I do like that in the moment of writing the answer to the question of the day puts your life in perspective
You don’t need anything special to write in, if anything a good pen you like to write with is key and helps the process, but I’m no expert. My gratitude journal was pretty inexpensive and I decorated the front with a class I did about journaling. We just used scrap paper and I typed up some words that described me and printed them. I can tell this book is old because it says fiancé and our wedding was almost four years ago. Ha Ha.
One thing I read is that it can be easy to give up on your gratitude journal; it may become repetitive to you. This is why I found prompts online to use to help me start each day with a new question; I’ll provide a start for you at the end. It matters less what you write; it matters more what you experience and feel. It is suggested to take a moment before you start writing and try to feel the gratitude, breathe through your mouth and slowly out through your mouth. I know this may sound cheesy, but that small bit of meditation may help in other ways besides your journaling. So, are you ready to journal?
Prompting questions to get you started:
-What’s a simple pleasure that you are grateful for?
– What’s an accomplishment you are proud of?
-What’s a possession that makes your life easier?
-Write about someplace you’ve been that you are grateful for?
-Write about a friend you are grateful for?
-Write about a family member you are grateful for?
-What’s a tradition you are grateful for?
-How are you able to help others??
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