It’s Time To Start Being Grateful
Gratitude journaling changed my outlook.
Waking up to my cat purring next to me. Fresh snow. An especially helpful therapy session.
Today I choose to show gratitude for these three things. Taking a moment to recognize and appreciate the good in my life, although small, has changed my whole outlook.
I hate journaling.
Again and again, I have tried to be that person that can spill my deepest secrets and confess my dreams to a piece of paper. I get so caught up in self-judgment of how stupid or cliche I sound that it takes away from the whole point of journaling in the first place.
Considering this, I really don't know why I decided to purchase a journal last year. I guess I was feeling inspired by the leather-bound pages and the hope that with the new year came to a new-found journal writing ability.
I was wrong.
Once again, I realized I hated the feeling of forced emotional depth that I was projecting on myself. The pressure of keeping an immaculate account of my feelings that I could one day look back on was too much.
So I ditched that idea. Journal writing wasn't for me, it wasn't going to happen.
In my final year of university, I took an upper-level health class on Behaviour Change Theory. One of the main projects of this class was to document a changed behavior in yourself and explain the theory and psychology behind it.
Okay, if I’m being honest I was totally prepared to make something up for this project. I mean, how would the professor know if I really changed a behavior in myself?
But I didn't, I decided to take something I knew I hated but make it more attainable so I would feel accomplished.
This is where Gratitude Journaling comes in. Instead of writing a long-winded, embarrassingly deep journal entry every night, I decided to simply write things that I was grateful for and leave it at that.
The project was only to change a behavior for a month, but 6 months later I’m still passionate about my gratitude journal and the change of thinking it has given me.
“Many studies over the past decade have found that people who consciously count their blessings tend to be happier and less depressed.” — Greater Good Magazine
My journaling consisted of writing down three things that happened in the day that I was proud of or perceived as positive events, one thing I am grateful for, and one thing I am looking forward to the next day. These journal entries were short, point-form, and took approximately 10–15 minutes to complete every night.
As gratitude is recognized as “the tendency toward appreciating the positive in life”(O’Leary & Dockray), the journaling was done with a focus on positivity in order to shift my focus away from stressors in my life. This addressed the issue of stress-related tunnel vision I had experienced during my studies and promotes an overall positive stream of consciousness throughout my day.
Gratitude diaries and guided reflections have been successful in reducing stress and depressive feelings and increasing overall happiness and wellbeing (O’Leary & Dockray).
The journaling for this project was often done with a focus on others and not myself. For example, something I may be grateful for is my friendship with my roommate due to her caring and compassionate nature. This focus on others rather than an internal focus can allow people to see past their own stressors and see the good in other people, this has been correlated with increased positive affect and happiness in the individual (Frein & Ponsler).
Six months later and I’m still at it.
Taking a few minutes at the end of each day to write down a few things I am thankful for has seriously improved my mental health, clarity, and overall outlook on life.
Instead of automatically seeing the negatives, I go through the day recognizing things that I am grateful for.
Tracking this has allowed me to look back on months past and see the small positive aspects of my life add up to something much larger.
When you have something on your mind, you begin to see that thing everywhere. Think of yellow cars and all you will see are yellow cars.
Your outlook on life is no different. If you have a negative outlook and only look for the downsides, that is all you will find. But if you change that outlook and rewire yourself to think of the positive, what you're grateful for, that is what you will begin to see.
Through this experiment, not only have I relieved stress at the end of each day by incorporating a sustainable change to my routine. But I am working to reprogram my negative thinking into something more positive and thankful.
I hope to continue this process of journaling all that I am thankful for as it has truly changed my outlook, and I think it could change yours too.
