How Having a Daily Gratitude Journal Made Me More Positive

It might sound like a cliché post you'd see on Pinterest but actively taking time each day to think of the good things that happened really helped me become more positive, and it may help you too.

In today's world, it's so easy to become pessimistic. Let's face it, the world isn't doing so good at the moment but that doesn't mean our attitudes should be negative.

If anything, now more than ever it's important for us to stay positive and optimistic, despite our uncertain future.

How It Helps

Last year I was inspired by a close friend to start a thread on Twitter noting all of the good things that happen in a day.

This was something she'd done the previous year, for the whole year and seeing it on my twitter timeline every day intrigued me.

I wanted to know if it actually made any difference to her wellbeing.

My friend told me that even on her worst days, having to think of just one good thing that happened during the day boosted her mood.

So, being a bit of a pessimist myself I decided to start doing my own daily gratitude log on twitter.

I'll be honest, I wasn't the best at keeping on top of it and often had days to catch up on but it definitely made an impact on my mental wellbeing.

Taking a few minutes out of my day to think of positive things, helped put life in perspective when I was stressed or anxious.

It made me realise that I had a lot to be grateful for and when I was feeling particularly anxious looking back on these twitter posts was a really quick and effective way to calm down.

I lasted about half the year posting my daily gratitude logs on Twitter.

Eventually, I realised that doing this on a public platform restricted what I could write about so I switched to using a traditional notebook and pen to give me more freedom.

How to start a gratitude log

Starting a gratitude log is simple, all you need is a notebook and pen.

You can buy notebooks that are specifically designed for this or just get yourself a plain one.

Using a plain notebook means that you can customise your gratitude log however you want, you can choose to do it daily, weekly or monthly.

If you use a bullet journal you can also incorporate this into your weekly spreads too, there are lots of nice designs for gratitude logs on Pinterest.

If you prefer digital, you can keep a note on your phone or keep an audio note to make the process even easier.

Some of you may want to try the Twitter idea mentioned earlier.

If you use social media for your gratitude log just remember that it's a public space and be careful not to share anything you're not comfortable with the world knowing.

Would you ever consider starting a gratitude journal?