Gratitude journal is the record of good happiness around you. Universe acts like a magnet once you will keep it around the matel, magnet will automatically attract it towards itself.

Now it’s our choice to keep it around rustic one or near a valuable metal. It has the ability to attract both. It applies the law of attraction. What you will give the universe, the universe will double it for you in return. So give positive to attract more positivity.

This is the main reason behind gratitude journal. Once you start keeping track of good things around you, you becomes magnet for good things. Then gratitude becomes your attitude.

Well there is a lot of confusion outside about gratitude journal, I will try to clear all of them one by one.

what is gratitude journal?

Let’s start with the most basic question out there. Gratitude journal is a dairy which keeps track of all the good things happening to you or around you.

In this journal you are writing down every little thing which you think is exceptional for you. It can be as big as getting a heart desired job. Or as little as taking a hot shower. It doesn’t matter what kind of thing you are thankful for, the only thing that matters is you are deliberately trying to find things to be grateful for.

Why is it important?

Here applies the law of attraction. When you start tracking your blessings they increase in number. It keeps your vibrations in good form. There is scientific research behind this method, the research shows that the universe receives your vibes and it also gives you back what it takes.

That means like attracts alike. When you start writing down good things happening to you , you start finding blessings in every thing consciously and that elevates your mood.

And with passage of time it start generating good vibes from you, which can attract more good things from the universe.

How can it help to release stress?

Gratitude in itself is a stress buster. But when you start jotting it down , finding blessings in everything becomes part of your subconscious. Which can help to lower your stress level.

The core reason for stress is negative thinking. When we associate every situation with it’s worst possible outcome, we feel stress, anxiety and depression but gratitude journals can help us to shift our focus from negativity towards positivity. And as a result we feel less stressful and anxious.

Should we write it daily?

Well writing down a gratitude journal on a daily basis is the best approach but if you find it burdensome there are other approaches too.

We will talk about every approach one by one in detail.

Daily approach

First category belongs to those people who enjoy writing. These people can write down daily blessings in a gratitude journal. This is one of the best and most popular approache. Because it helps us to keep track of our daily blessings.

When we write gratitude journals on a daily basis it helps us to focus on positivity on a daily basis.

3 days a week approach

This category belongs to people who are less interested in writing or find it boring to take time from every day routine to write a gratitude journal.

If you belong to this category and can’t write a daily gratitude journal, don’t worry that’s not the end of the world. You can do it on a 3 day basis. That means specify three days a week on which you can write down your blessings on previous days on which you were inactive.

That makes it less overwhelming but you can still keep track of your blessings. (Let me tell you a secret I belong to the category of these lazy people’s too)

How many things one should write down daily in gratitude journal?

There are many different kinds of answers to this question.

Write 31 good things daily.

This approach said you can write down 31 good things daily. It doesn’t need to be big and impressive. It can include as little things as being able to drink coffee, taking a shower, sleeping or going for a walk with your dog. Seriously, you can write anything in any way.

After 31 days you can see a clear difference in your life.

Write down 10 good things daily

If you find it overwhelming and difficult to find 31 good things daily, consider this option. In this option you can only write down 10 blessings a day or 3 days a week in my case.

Write down 3 good things daily

Sometimes in the hustle and bustle of life, it becomes difficult to take time out of your busy routine and write down 31 or 10 blessings. Then in this case you can keep record of your 3 daily blessings so you don’t have to put extra effort into it, you can do it on the go.

My personal opinion is that the reason to write a gratitude journal is to find happiness and release stress so it doesn’t have to have any hard and fast rules. You can do it in a manner which suits you best. But I suggest if you have time then please go with 10 things a day option because the more the merrier.

How to start writing gratitude journal?

Find an attractive journal

First choose a separate notebook or diary which you are using only for this purpose. I suggest the dairy should be Intaicing so that it can make you feel like writing. There are alot of templates out there available for gratitude journaling, or journaling in simple. Or you can order one online.

The main idea here is it should be in a format of your choice either bold, blend or pastel. Having quotations on it or simple in design.

Fix time for writing

Specify a time for writing a gratitude journal. It can help you to maintain a habit of writing. By this you are telling your subconscious to keep aside everything else at that time and focus your energy on writing a gratitude journal.

Be consistent

Consistency is the key. If you want results from your efforts you should be consistent with it. Whether you go with daily practice or weekly but make sure to stick with it to make it a magnet for good things.

Which kind of template is best for a gratitude journal?

If your question is what kind of journal you should use I have already answered the question that whatever seems intaicing to you, you should use that template. If you don’t want to keep a physical journal you can use online templates too for journaling, examples of those journals are given below,

How to develop a habit of gratitude journal suggest starting with small tasks, maybe 3 or 5 things a day to keep it minimal and less burdensome. Once you develop a habit you can increase the amount of blessings you are grateful for.

21 days challenge

There is science backed research which shows that if you want to develop a habit, do that thing for 21 days without any gap, you will see it became your habit after 21 days.

So give yourself a 21 day challenge, keep a calendar on your wall and cross the days as they pass by, marking the calendar also gives you a sense of accomplishment. And also helps you to keep a record of your blessings.

If you want to start your journey of a 21 day gratitude journal with me, do comment down below me, I will be more than happy to share my journey with you.

Which time is best to write a gratitude journal?

Any time which you are comfortable with is the best time for gratitude journaling. Both morning and night time are considered the best times for journaling. Night time before sleep is my personal favorite because it helps to regulate hormone levels and promote sleep.

But there are no hard and fast rules, you can pick any time of your choice but make sure to stick to it. How much time it takes to become effective.

Genuinely saying, you are not going to see its result in a day or two. It’s a long and continuous process but if you willingly make consistent effort you are gonna see its permanent result on your personality and your surroundings too. So keep doing it and stay positive, soon you will observe positive vibes coming out of yourself.

Verbal gratitude vs gratitude journal which is best?

People usually ask that we are verbally saying that we are grateful for something. Why do we need to write it down? It’s not necessary.

It’s a good thing that you show your gratitude orally on the go. But verbal saying only involves your tongue but writing involves your hands, brain, eyes and tongue as well.

And when you involve more than one organ into something, it indicates your mind about it’s importance, as a result the mind stores that information in the important and permanent section of the brain which helps you to see more quick and permanent results of gratitude. So you should include both the practices in your routine.

Can we write about future wishes in gratitude journal?

Well I don’t know if this question comes into your mind or not. But my pro tip: while writing down your gratitude journal is you should include your future wishes too. But you should write about them as if you already own them.

For example: if you want to have your dream house in future, you can write it down like you already have it. Like

• I am grateful for its beautiful garden which is full of my favorite plants.
• I am grateful for a beautiful house.
• I am grateful for its comfortable and cozy layout.

And so on, you can include as many future wishes as you want but write them in present tense. One thing more first include all the things you already own then write about future wishes. Or mix or match them while writing.

This technique can help your wishes to come true soon. Because when you show your gratitude to the universe even on the things you don’t have, the universe will help you to get those things soon.

So stay happy and positive and never stop writing your gratitude journal. Sooner or later you are gonna see the best outcome of your efforts. And if you have more questions about gratitude journals or gratitude in general, please ask in the comments.

you might like:

https://positivepsychology.com/gratitude-journal/