One of the easiest and most powerful ways to increase your overall happiness and feelings of happiness is to get in the habit of showing more gratitude – something we’ve talked about in the past.
While resolving to feel more gratitude and be happier is good, it’s a little harder to put it into action. Thankfully there’s a simple tool that will help you stay on track – a journal. A gratitude journal is a wonderful thing and something that can have a big positive impact on your life. Best of all, you don’t need anything fancy. Grab a notebook and a pen, or if you prefer, boot up your computer and open up a word document.
It’s a simple concept and one that won’t take long. All you do is each day write for a few minutes about the various things you feel grateful for. Think back on anything that made you happy throughout the day. By listing all the positive things in your life, you’re putting them into the forefront of your mind. This will help increase your mood which obviously makes you feel happier.
Not only will your writing help you right away, as you compose each daily entry, you’re also creating a great memento of your gratitude and happiness journey. Pull out your journal, curl up on the couch and read through it whenever you need a little boost of happiness. Seeing how far you’ve come the past weeks, months, and even years is amazing.
Doing this (pulling out your journal or Word Document) and reading about the past events, situations, and people you’ve held gratitude for is going to help you relive those moments. While reliving those moments, you’re going to remember the memories and the feelings that were associated with it at that time. Think of your gratitude journal as a happiness battery. You’re storing your good feelings in an easy format that allows you to access and relive them on demand.
Another reason it’s a great idea to read your gratitude journal on a regular basis is that it will help you form a new habit. And that’s what this whole challenge is all about – forming habits that will help us choose and feel happiness. This habit (of reading your gratitude journal) will help you to have a more positive outlook on life, and since the journal forces you to think of and find the things and people you’re grateful for in any given day, your brain will automatically start to look for the positive instead of the negative.
If you’re ready to practice gratitude and work on increasing your happiness, start practicing daily gratitude and filling out your gratitude journal.
Would you be interested in an exciting, unique, and fun way to experience happiness? If so be sure to check out Experience.Happy – our newest coloring adventure, a 5 senses immersive coloring adventure! Each month, we’ll present to you a different topic on something that will make you happy.