Check-in: How's Gratitude Journaling Going?
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themedalist
Posts: 3,215 Member
For those of you participating in our gratitude challenge this week, how is it going for you?
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Just started today. Loved the idea!2
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I almost forgot my journaling today, but a post on Facebook about journals reminded me. So grateful for that post.
The idea of gratitude ties in nicely to the decluttering challenge. In Marie Kondo's book, she suggests thanking objects for their service as you put them away - as in, "Thank you coat for keeping me warm today." And she also says as you declutter, you should hold each object and see if it "sparks joy," if it doesn't, thank it for its service and send it on. While I'm not going to thank objects, it made me think about how I could do the same, but instead I should thank God for the object and the service/joy it has given me. This helped when we had to throw out our beloved tea kettle. We joked that we should thank it for all the lovely cups of tea, but it helped us realize that 1) we do not need to keep a non-functional tea kettle for sentimental reasons, and 2) we should appreciate the things in our life that promote our happiness and the giver of those things.
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I really like @nebslp's idea of looking for gratitude in hard to find areas and finding the good in a difficult situation. I'm very fortunate (and grateful!) to be in my 50's and still have both my wonderful parents with me and active in my life. I could write volumes about how grateful I am to have them for parents and the positive impact they have had on my life. That's really easy. And I can rattle off a whole list of other things and people that I'm grateful for. Easy peasey.
It's a lot more challenging to unearth gratitude when it's not in plain sight. I have someone in my life (i'm sure we all do!) where the relationship is much more strained. It's hard for me to see eye to eye with this person. We are just very different. But this person has many wonderful qualities and I am grateful for having this person in my life. I have found my subject for today's journal entry.
I know if I try to write about a challenging person or situation every night, I wouldn't last very long. It's hard to work through those emotions and it can be pretty exhausting. So I think I'll switch it up, alternating between easier and more challenging subjects.4 -
I almost forgot my journaling today, but a post on Facebook about journals reminded me. So grateful for that post.
The idea of gratitude ties in nicely to the decluttering challenge. In Marie Kondo's book, she suggests thanking objects for their service as you put them away - as in, "Thank you coat for keeping me warm today." And she also says as you declutter, you should hold each object and see if it "sparks joy," if it doesn't, thank it for its service and send it on. While I'm not going to thank objects, it made me think about how I could do the same, but instead I should thank God for the object and the service/joy it has given me. This helped when we had to throw out our beloved tea kettle. We joked that we should thank it for all the lovely cups of tea, but it helped us realize that 1) we do not need to keep a non-functional tea kettle for sentimental reasons, and 2) we should appreciate the things in our life that promote our happiness and the giver of those things.
I really want to read this book and have put it on my list. I like the idea of paring items down to just those that give us joy.
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I have a notebook I call "5 things I'm grateful for today". I write in it every night (well, almost every night) before bed and list 5 things for that day. Some days are good days and I write more than 5 and some days I struggle for even 5 and I list obvious things like my family, my job, etc. So, I do really love the idea of gratitude journaling. However, I have been struggling for the past month with even writing in it. I've been in such a funk...overwhelmed and stressed at work, at home and now with this knee surgery on top of it all. So....my challenge for myself this week is to start listing 5 things again on a daily basis and adding why I am grateful for each if that reason isn't obvious. I really tend to deal with stress better when I do this journaling and find a place of gratitude, so this has really come at a great time.
Thank you for posting this challenge for us! This is going to be a very healthy habit for me to start back up...3 -
I think this is a good idea. Though admittedly I have not written anything down. For now I am w working still on logging and doing it more accurately which I have been lacking at doing. Too much eyeballing and trying to remember. But I am grateful for everyday and for feeling better each day too.1
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I wrote my 5 things I'm grateful for in my journal last night, but this time I added reasons for why I am grateful. It really made me think about how lucky I am and how small my problems really are in the big scope of things.2
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OConnell5483 wrote: »I have a notebook I call "5 things I'm grateful for today". I write in it every night (well, almost every night) before bed and list 5 things for that day. Some days are good days and I write more than 5 and some days I struggle for even 5 and I list obvious things like my family, my job, etc. So, I do really love the idea of gratitude journaling. However, I have been struggling for the past month with even writing in it. I've been in such a funk...overwhelmed and stressed at work, at home and now with this knee surgery on top of it all. So....my challenge for myself this week is to start listing 5 things again on a daily basis and adding why I am grateful for each if that reason isn't obvious. I really tend to deal with stress better when I do this journaling and find a place of gratitude, so this has really come at a great time.
Thank you for posting this challenge for us! This is going to be a very healthy habit for me to start back up...
Finding gratitude in challenging times is a real challenge. Today I journaled about my dentist. A dental emergency is no fun, but having a great dentist and modern dentistry in general are blessings for which I'm grateful.3 -
OConnell5483 wrote: »I wrote my 5 things I'm grateful for in my journal last night, but this time I added reasons for why I am grateful. It really made me think about how lucky I am and how small my problems really are in the big scope of things.
Recognizing our gifts certainly gives us perspective!3 -
OConnell5483 wrote: »I have a notebook I call "5 things I'm grateful for today". I write in it every night (well, almost every night) before bed and list 5 things for that day. Some days are good days and I write more than 5 and some days I struggle for even 5 and I list obvious things like my family, my job, etc. So, I do really love the idea of gratitude journaling. However, I have been struggling for the past month with even writing in it. I've been in such a funk...overwhelmed and stressed at work, at home and now with this knee surgery on top of it all. So....my challenge for myself this week is to start listing 5 things again on a daily basis and adding why I am grateful for each if that reason isn't obvious. I really tend to deal with stress better when I do this journaling and find a place of gratitude, so this has really come at a great time.
Thank you for posting this challenge for us! This is going to be a very healthy habit for me to start back up...
Finding gratitude in challenging times is a real challenge. Today I journaled about my dentist. A dental emergency is no fun, but having a great dentist and modern dentistry in general are blessings for which I'm grateful.
Great example of looking for gratitude in harder to find places!2 -
Love this post and all the responses!
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prgirl39mfp wrote: »Love this post and all the responses!
So do I. I'm doing something today that's a little challenging for me. But I'm going into it with a positive attitude and a heaping dose of determination to find gratitude in the situation. It's there. I know it is.4 -
OConnell5483 wrote: »I wrote my 5 things I'm grateful for in my journal last night, but this time I added reasons for why I am grateful. It really made me think about how lucky I am and how small my problems really are in the big scope of things.
@OConnell5483:
I've borrowed your idea of adding reasons to my original list I had been making separately
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I began the week trying to figure out this gratitude journaling thing by randomly writing in paragraph form about certain things that happened during that day and my reasons for being grateful for them. The entries became long and wordy, and I soon realized that doing my Gratitude Journal this way would be unsustainable in the long run (for me), especially while trying to write in it at night when I am already tired, let alone adding something new to my evening to remember to do.
After reading OConnell5483's post I decided that I would incorporate her idea during the same time that I have been already making in list form what I am thankful for during my morning devotion/prayer time. Now I write the list in my Gratitude Journal and add the "because" notation. This gives me the benefit of considering exactly why I am grateful and helping me to cultivate the important "attitude for gratitude" that we are learning about in this challenge.
And since I linked writing in my Gratitude Journal with my prayer time it will be a sustainable activity for me.
Denise, thank you for a very thought provoking challenge this week!
I really enjoyed the resources you included with the challenge. I am going to finish reading them today. There were several good bunny trail links within the resources to check out also .
:flowerforyou:4 -
@texasgardnr I'm glad the list format is working for you! I find if something is quick and easy, I'm much more apt to stick to it. The list works good for me also. I write in it when I go to bed so I don't try to fall asleep with a lot of stress or worry in my head...it helps me go to sleep on a good note. I got this idea from a book I bought named "Simple Abundance..." (can't remember the whole name right now). Adding a reason to each one doesn't add a lot of time, but it adds enough to make it even more insightful for me.
Today, I got to such a place of gratitude that I have asked my husband to please put a halt to house hunting. I explained to him that our house can be plenty big enough for us if we just do more decluttering! As a matter of fact, by getting rid of over 20 coffee mugs and other dishes and kitchen gadgets that nobody EVER uses, I was able to open up 1 1/2 shelves in the dishes cupboard in our kitchen! Then, by moving cookbooks out of a different cupboard onto one of those shelves, I opened up a whole other section of cupboards on a different wall. Next, we are going to move the oak desk from our "office" into the kitchen against a wall underneath some upper cupboards that we couldn't really use before (for various reasons). This is going to open up the office as a whole new room to do whatever we want with! I might be able to move my sewing area upstairs and finally have a craft/sewing room! I'm so excited!
So, between the decluttering challenge and the gratitude challenge that both got me thinking, we gained a whole new room and probably can save a ton of money by not relocating! Whoop Whoop!
Thank you again for these challenges! This has been an ongoing struggle for us, when all I had to do was declutter and be grateful for the nice little brick home that we already have! Wow. Who knew?
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texasgardnr wrote: »OConnell5483 wrote: »I wrote my 5 things I'm grateful for in my journal last night, but this time I added reasons for why I am grateful. It really made me think about how lucky I am and how small my problems really are in the big scope of things.
@OConnell5483:
I've borrowed your idea of adding reasons to my original list I had been making separately .
I began the week trying to figure out this gratitude journaling thing by randomly writing in paragraph form about certain things that happened during that day and my reasons for being grateful for them. The entries became long and wordy, and I soon realized that doing my Gratitude Journal this way would be unsustainable in the long run (for me), especially while trying to write in it at night when I am already tired, let alone adding something new to my evening to remember to do.
After reading OConnell5483's post I decided that I would incorporate her idea during the same time that I have been already making in list form what I am thankful for during my morning devotion/prayer time. Now I write the list in my Gratitude Journal and add the "because" notation. This gives me the benefit of considering exactly why I am grateful and helping me to cultivate the important "attitude for gratitude" that we are learning about in this challenge.
And since I linked writing in my Gratitude Journal with my prayer time it will be a sustainable activity for me.
Denise, thank you for a very thought provoking challenge this week!
I really enjoyed the resources you included with the challenge. I am going to finish reading them today. There were several good bunny trail links within the resources to check out also .
:flowerforyou:
I also love @OConnell5483's suggestion of adding the reasons for gratitude to a list. And you are both so right, @texasgardnr, the key to unleashing the power of gratitude to transform our lives lies in making it a sustainable habit. It's hard to fit in journaling every day if it becomes a time-consuming process. I've decided I'm going to do a hybrid between the two. On days when I have a little more time or am just inclined to document my gratitude more thoroughly, I'll write a couple of paragraphs. Other days, I'll keep a streaming list of things I'm grateful for and annotate the list with reasons for my gratitude. This is a sustainable approach for me, since some days are a little crazier than others.
We truly can learn from each other. Thank you both for posting!
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OConnell5483 wrote: »@texasgardnr I'm glad the list format is working for you! I find if something is quick and easy, I'm much more apt to stick to it. The list works good for me also. I write in it when I go to bed so I don't try to fall asleep with a lot of stress or worry in my head...it helps me go to sleep on a good note. I got this idea from a book I bought named "Simple Abundance..." (can't remember the whole name right now). Adding a reason to each one doesn't add a lot of time, but it adds enough to make it even more insightful for me.
Today, I got to such a place of gratitude that I have asked my husband to please put a halt to house hunting. I explained to him that our house can be plenty big enough for us if we just do more decluttering! As a matter of fact, by getting rid of over 20 coffee mugs and other dishes and kitchen gadgets that nobody EVER uses, I was able to open up 1 1/2 shelves in the dishes cupboard in our kitchen! Then, by moving cookbooks out of a different cupboard onto one of those shelves, I opened up a whole other section of cupboards on a different wall. Next, we are going to move the oak desk from our "office" into the kitchen against a wall underneath some upper cupboards that we couldn't really use before (for various reasons). This is going to open up the office as a whole new room to do whatever we want with! I might be able to move my sewing area upstairs and finally have a craft/sewing room! I'm so excited!
So, between the decluttering challenge and the gratitude challenge that both got me thinking, we gained a whole new room and probably can save a ton of money by not relocating! Whoop Whoop!
Thank you again for these challenges! This has been an ongoing struggle for us, when all I had to do was declutter and be grateful for the nice little brick home that we already have! Wow. Who knew?
@OConnell5483, I don't really know where to begin responding to this awesome post, except to say that it made my day!
Health and happiness are interconnected. When we are healthier, we are generally happier, and when we are happier we are healthier. My hope with each of these weekly challenges is that through "test driving" them for 7 days, some will naturally get adopted by folks and become part of their daily routines. Decluttering and gratitude are both powerful tools to improve our lives. I just love your detailed post of how they have impacted your life. Thanks so much for writing and sharing!
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Wow!!! @OConnell5483 , you are KILLING this challenge.2
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Thank you! I was afraid I might be boring you with those details but I was really excited! I'm really working hard on focusing on the positives in life and being grateful for what we have rather than always wishing for more. I'm glad I didn't bore you! Thanks for letting me share.3
