How and Why to Start Gratitude Journaling! With 7 Beautiful Prompts to Go Deeper

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Thoughtful Woman with Gratitude Journal
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If you’ve always wanted to journal, gratitude journaling is a great way to start—and below we explore how gratitude journaling can boost our wellbeing on many levels.

In this article you’ll find 3 steps to get started with the simplest form of gratitude journaling: making a list! We also take a quick look at the benefits of gratitude journaling, how it fits into the Fierce Kindness philosophy and offer some tips.

And if you already gratitude journal, you can jump straight to the 7 beautiful gratitude journaling prompts to go deeper.

A little about journaling…

More than just keeping a record of your day, a journal can help you explore and sift through your feelings and experiences and learn from them. Journaling is a powerful way to connect with—and get to know—you. And it’s a lot easier than you might think!

It’s also great to choose a beautiful notebook and use a pen you like—but the most important thing is to just get started.

So, why Gratitude Journaling?

There are plenty of benefits to gratitude journaling, and many of them now proven scientifically like lowering our stress, sleeping better, improving our relationships—and possibly even eating more healthily! And a study of adolescents in 20181 found keeping a gratitude journal reduced materialism and made them more generous.

But don’t expect the benefits of gratitude journaling to be immediate… Various studies show improvements to mental wellbeing after 4 weeks. And then, once you get started, some studies even show that wellbeing can continue improving for up to 3 months after starting a gratitude practice.

The 4 Threads of Fierce Kindness

So, did you know gratitude forms a key part of the Fierce Kindness philosophy and practice? There are 4 threads (the “4 Cs”) that weave throughout Fierce Kindness that make for a fulfilling and meaningful life:

  1. CONNECT to yourself, others & something bigger.
  2. CREATE a life you love—and love the life you already have…
  3. CHOOSE kindness—always.
  4. CONTRIBUTE to make your world a better place.

CREATE a life you love is about actively working to make your life the way you want it AND also learning to love the life you currently have. Gratitude is what helps us appreciate what’s already great in our lives, so that we can be happy now, instead of waiting to create our “perfect” life.

Back to Gratitude Journaling

Many people think gratitude journaling is just about making lists of things we are grateful or thankful for.

Well, there are lots of different ways to “gratitude journal”, but for now, simple list-making a fabulous way to get started!

3 Steps to Get Started Gratitude Journaling

Gratitude journaling can take many forms, but the easiest is simply pondering and then making a list of the things you are grateful for.

If the words “grateful” or “gratitude” don’t work for you, try using a different word like “blessings” (an upbeat, happy word for many of us), or things you’re simply “thankful” for.

1) Choose a regular timeslot when you’ll make your list

  • The hardest thing is likely to be remembering to make your list so it’s good to build your gratitude journaling onto an existing habit or timeslot that rarely gets disrupted.
  • TIP: Find something you already do every day/week, and then tag your gratitude journaling on.
  • DAILY: the beginning or end of day is a good time. For example in bed before you turn out the light, before or after meditating/your morning or evening shower or bath, with your first cup of coffee.
  • WEEKLY: what space do you regularly have or could you create weekly? A weekend morning over breakfast? Is there something your children or partner does weekly where you could create precious me-time?

2) Make a list of your blessings in your journal!

  • Choose a number of things you will be grateful for—it could be 3, 5 or 7. Or just keep writing as many things as you can until you can’t think of anything else!
  • If you struggle with things to be grateful for, try:
    • Thinking smaller! Those delicious summer strawberries you had at breakfast, the sunshine (or rain if it’s raining and your garden needs it), or perhaps you just love your beautiful new bedding set.
    • Thinking bigger! I have a home, a job, a car, a life partner, my health.

3) Take a moment to feel the blessings or gratitude

Finally, as you identify each item, take a few moments (try 3 deep breaths) to really FEEL the gratitude in your body.

This anchors the feeling of gratitude and also has a calming and uplifting effect on your body’s physiology—increasing your inner peace and groundedness.

3 Important Gratitude Journaling Tips

1) Don’t force gratitude

Inauthenticity isn’t going to help us with our gratitude practice! Instead look for what you can genuinely be grateful for.

2) Sometimes gratitude journaling can be uncomfortable—and that’s OK

Gratitude, or thinking about what we are grateful for may stir up difficult feelings. For example we may feel indebted to someone, worry that something good will be taken away from us—or even feel guilty for all that we have.

If this happens, the trick is to be:

    1. Aware of what you’re feeling
    2. Acknowledge and
    3. Allow the uncomfortable feeling and be kind to it—before continuing with your list.

3) Gratitude is a booster not a cure-all

Don’t use gratitude as a way to block mental pain, get over loss or to ignore something terrible that happened.

Gratitude is not a “fix” for life’s challenges. It can absolutely help boost our resilience and happiness levels, gradually shifting our habitual mindset to be more positive instead of wallowing or dwelling.

BUT. If you need to, be sure to make space to grieve, process a difficult situation or challenge and talk to someone or get help if needed.

7 Beautiful Gratitude Journaling PromptsHand with Butterflies

Lastly, here are some timely gratitude journaling prompts to help you move more deeply into the practice of gratitude.

Write freely whatever comes to mind—a list, a paragraph (or several), a poem or something else…

  1. Today I am feeling _____. I think this is because _____. I am thankful for _____.
  2. Even during challenging times, I will always be grateful for _____.
  3. One big thing I am grateful to have learned during this crisis is _____. This has changed me by _____.
  4. What matters most to me in life is _____. I appreciate it by _____. Going forwards I will make more effort to appreciate this by _____.
  5. One thing that’s surprised me recently is _____. As a result I have decided to/am considering _____.
  6. I love _____. I am deeply grateful for _____. I wish _____. I forgive myself for _____.
  7. The most wonderful thing about being alive is _____.

Remember not to judge yourself! Whatever we write, whatever we learn about ourselves is simply knowledge that allows us to reflect and make change.

Wrap-up

Fierce Kindness LogoGratitude is an important piece of the Fierce Kindness philosophy. It’s a practice that boosts our wellbeing on many levels, and gratitude journaling is a great place to get started!

A journal is expressive by nature and it contains feelings, emotions, problems, ponderings and it is more reflective on the meaning of life being lived. Lynda Monk

And if you’d like some help getting started journaling, try this How to Journal article from Lynda Monk at the IAJW (International Association for Journal Writing).

Lastly remember:

Change the world. Start with you!

If you enjoyed this article on gratitude journaling, you may also like:

References:

Image of Woman considering what she is grateful for with notebook by krakenimages via Kraken Images

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2 Comments

  1. Lynda Monk

    Hi Emma, thank you so much for mentioning the IAJW.org as a resource for journal writers 🙂

    I love this article and all you do. With GRATITUDE, Lynda x

    • Emma-Louise Elsey

      Hi Lynda,
      I’m so glad you love this article about how to start gratitude journaling!
      And of course I would mention the IAJW!
      Warmly, Emma-Louise