Gratitude Journal

Good morning friends! Today I wanted to share with you something that I have read about over and over and over again but have put off doing until recently: starting a gratitude journal. 

Years ago when I first read about this concept on one of my favorite blogs I thought "oh that seems sweet, but I don't need one more thing to keep up with".

Fast forward to one day last year when I was listening to Rachel Hollis' podcast Rise. On her podcast Rachel was talking about the importance of not only noticing the obvious positives in your life (health, family, friends) but noticing the little positives in each day too (there wasn't any traffic on the way to work today, a surprise phone call from a friend to catch up, etc.). Rachel talked about the importance of not only noticing these things, but writing them down daily in a journal. 

Then fast forward yet again to one of the books I read a few months back, The Happiness Advantage. The author, Shawn Achor, was discussing the power of positive psychology and how greatly we can improve our lives by choosing to see the positive in each day rather than the negative--- no matter HOW bad your day might have been, there is almost always something positive that can be found. Shawn recommended writing down 5 positive things that happened each day before you go to bed at night. 

I figured if 3 people I respect are telling me to do the same thing, it might finally be time to jump on board. So I did. And let me tell you, I've only been doing it for a few months but I can already see a positive impact. 

I love that a day that may otherwise feel crummy can easily be turned around into something positive. For example, a few days ago Liam had his 2 month well visit and got his shots. Our poor sweet boy had a hard time with it and could not calm down, no matter what I did. I mean the "crying so hard I thought he might throw up" kind of crying. Well, naturally, that upset his big sister to see him so upset. So then I had two very upset kiddos. This went on for a full 45 minutes before I was able to calm both of them down. And we all know that 45 minutes watching a TV show can fly by... but 45 minutes of crying children feels like 3 years. But at the end of the day when I went to write in my journal I had to try to find the silver lining to the situation... and you know what? I actually had a lot to be grateful for. I had two children at the pediatrician's office that were otherwise healthy. Liam's reaction to the shot wasn't medical, no hives or wheezing, it was more scared/upset. It may have taken 45 minutes to calm them down, but luckily I had the time and was able to snuggle them and reassure them that everything was okay. 

I love that by doing this gratitude journal my mindset has shifted towards finding the positive in every situation, no matter how bad it may seem at the time. 

Now personally I love my gratitude journal to be bright and cheery, so I use one of the Lilly Pulitzer notebooks (I always pick up 1-2 of these during their sales because they're cheaper and I go through them like crazy!). Here are a few options they currently have:

Concealed Spiral Journal

Concealed Spiral Journal

Mini Notebook

I also loved the look of this one I found at Target:

Simple but classic.

And I also love to use colored pens. I use my Flair pens:

If this is something you have considered doing, I highly recommend it. It has already made such a big difference in how I view my days, and I'm sure it will continue to do so in the future. This would be a GREAT New Year's Resolution if you are already starting to look ahead to 2020. 

Do any of you already do this? I'd love to know how it's been working out for you! Leave me a comment below :)