Keep a Gratitude Journal
Keeping track of all the good things in your life can ease stress and boost your mood.
By Heather Johnson Durocher
Feeling down about arthritis or the effects it is having on your life? Try counting your blessings. Better yet, write about them. Experts say creating a gratitude journal – a notebook in which you jot down the people and things for which you’re most thankful – is a way to boost not only your happiness, but also your overall health.
“It’s very easy to remember the negative and not acknowledge the positive in our lives,” notes Lori Gray Boothroyd, a coaching psychologist in Traverse City, Mich. “The more we are able to recognize and appreciate sources of gratitude in our lives, the more good stuff we will draw our way.”
Even so, the process of journaling may not come easy to you. Limited time might prevent you from getting started – or stop you from continuing. Or maybe the idea seems a little, well, corny. Will it really help ease stress in your life, or will it be only one more thing to add to your already lengthy to-do list?
Boothroyd says it’s how you approach the effort that makes all the difference. “Create a simple ritual or routine that will support you in noting what you are grateful for each day,” she says. “Try it for a week or two, and see what happens.”
A few ideas:
• Keep it simple. Don’t worry about coming up with a laundry list of gratitude items. Ponder your day until you think of at least three good things – no matter how small – to jot down. Add more if the feeling strikes. “You may be surprised at how good you feel after this very simple action,” Boothroyd says.
• Get creative. Don’t limit your journal to just words – paste in photos, newspaper clippings or any kind of image that evokes a positive feeling and puts a smile on your face.
• Share the love. “Share your gratitude with a dear friend, spouse or family member,” Boothroyd suggests. “Teach the children or grandchildren in your life to identify what they feel most thankful for.”
The power of writing down what you are grateful for each day is twofold. “First, the act of keeping a gratitude journal shifts your mood as you review the day and think about acts of kindness, your good fortune and the overwhelming positive elements in your life,” she says. “Secondly, as time goes by and your journal expands, you can look back at entries on days when you feel discouraged and need a lift.”
Learn other ways journaling can help:
How keeping a journal can keep your exercise program on track
