November is like a breath of fresh air. My mindset changes like the color of the leaves. It’s a season to spread joy and be thankful. Levels of excitement increase due to the upcoming holiday season and there’s an anticipation of the new year ahead.
Before the month even started, I made the decision to take a small notebook and create a gratitude journal. If you are unfamiliar with what a gratitude journal is, it’s a place where you write down what you are grateful for every day for a month. The goal of it is to take some time and reflect on what you value and appreciate in life.
I created one because I knew I didn’t give enough thanks in my daily life. It always feels like I’m complaining about something and moving quickly through the day. This forced me to take time and think about the things I take for granted.
If you want to create a gratitude journal as well, grab a notebook… I have a few tips for you!
Tip #1: Don’t overthink it
This is probably the biggest thing I did when I first got started with my journal. I thought that I had to write down these big things in my life because they mattered more than the little things. This is definitely not the case! Sometimes I wrote down the things that I really wouldn’t think of right away if someone were to ask me, “what are you grateful for?” For example, I would start the journal with the first things that came to my head which were family, friends, faith, etc. As the days went by, I started to think of the things that I commonly take for granted, like seatbelts and alarm clocks. It may seem like your list is random, but it can totally alter your perspective on what you use or do in your everyday life.
Tip #2: Quality over quantity
When I began the journal, I wrote very little. This is completely fine because a journal is what you make of it. Gradually, my writing increased in quantity because I had more to say about certain things. You may not write more than a few words or one sentence. If so, don’t think that how little you write correlates to the significance it holds to you. This journal isn’t for anyone else but you, so don’t feel like you didn’t do enough. As long as you address what you are grateful for, that’s all that matters!
Tip #3: Set a few rules for your journal.
To be honest, the beauty of this journal is that there really are no rules. However, I found it helpful to set some guidelines for my journal to keep myself in check. Personally, I intended to write down 3 things I was grateful for every day instead of just one. I knew that there is so much in this world that I am thankful for, so I wanted to get the most out of my journal. Another guideline that I set for myself was to write in my gratitude journal before going to bed. I would recommend writing either in the morning before you start your day or in the evening to reflect before you go to sleep.
If you’re interested in starting a gratitude journal, I hope these tips will help you in doing so. Remember that you don’t need a new month, year, or season to begin writing. Start today! You’ll be grateful you didn’t wait.