A Beautiful Life A blog about anything and everything for a beautiful life.

"The single greatest thing you can do to change your life today would be to start being grateful for what you have right now. And the more grateful you are, the more you get."
Oprah


A gratitude journal is a place where you write things you are grateful for.  It is believed that keeping a gratitude journal is a great way to improve your outlook on life by banishing negativity and emphasising the positive things in your life. 
 
Dr. Robert Emmons is a pyschologist known for his studies into gratitude and his most recent research into the correlation of gratitude and happiness gives fascinating insight into the power of thought.  What he found was that people who kept gratitude journals felt better about their lives and were more optimistic.  Read more about the results of his fascinating study here.
 
There are a number of options available if you are looking at keeping a gratitude journal, which are listed below.
 
1. Keep a written journal
There are an unlimited number of options here.  Pick a beautiful journal to keep and record your gratitude daily.  This gratitude journal from amazon.com is a great option.
 
2. Online gratitude journal
Gratitude Log offers a free online option for keeping a gratitude journal.  Thankfulfor and ButterBeeHappy are other great options.
 
3. Gratitude apps for your iPhone
There are a number of gratitude apps available for the iPhone.  Gratitude is my favourite and I use it almost every day to record things I am grateful for.  Over the months I've kept a gratitude journal I have found, personally, it's increased my positivity and enjoyment of life.  I've also noticed it's had a strange side effect in that I now look for things to be grateful for and am more observant of things that make me feel gratitude or happiness.  One example is my daily drive to work.  Previously it was a daily chore that I didn't pay too much attention to but now I notice the beautiful river that I drive past and the beautiful sunsets on my way home.
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
How to keep a Gratitude Journal
 
Below are some guidelines on how to keep a gratitude journal, however I suggest going with what is right for you.  Keeping a gratitude journal should not be a chore, but something that makes you happy.   
 
1.  Keep your Gratitude Journal handy, ideally on your bedside table to write in each night.
 
2. During the day look out for things to be grateful for and make a mental note to record them later.  Or do as I do and spend 5 minutes thinking about things that happened during the day that made your happy. 
 
3. List 5 things that you are grateful for.  They can be big or small.  For example, a baby's smile, a beautiful sunset, a hug from your child.
 
4. As you start the next day read the previous days journal entry to savour them.