SoCS – “jour” – Gratitude Journal

Linda is our host for SoCS. Please pop over and see what others have done with the prompt.

My brain has been uber occupied lately. I decided the next time I could not sleep, I would devote some time to blogging. So, since 3 something this morning I have been enjoying reading blogs and writing a few.     

As soon as I saw the prompt on Friday, I knew what I wanted to write about. My thoughts went immediately to my gratitude journals. As an expert on catastrophic expectations, I was a failure at accepting gratitude. With the help of mentors, I began keeping a gratitude journal.

Every evening I would write three things I was grateful for that day. I did my best to not repeat things in a week. I began reading the prior days, before beginning the new entry. It was just as wonderfully therapeutic as I expected it to be. Constantly thinking about all the sad, worrisome, frustrating things in my life was wearing me down. Focusing on my journal and what wonderful things was lifting my spirits.

My journal usage started expanding. I not only listed three gratitudes each evening, but three each morning. The journal was a constant physical reminder that I had much to be grateful for. After awhile, I noticed myself being grateful all day long. As anything went well, or made me happy, I acknowledged it immediately. It made keeping my journal easy because I had so many examples to reflect on. I no longer had to struggle to come up with three things.

Was my life that much better? I think my life was pretty much the same, but my focus was on the wonderful gratitudes, not the things I had no control over.