FORWARD GRATITUDE
So, I dabbled in a gratitude journal on and off for the last year or so. I was in a tough spot in my life and I was trying to reevaluate what made me happy, who made me happy, and what was important in my life. I’ve always been a big fan of people such as Rowena Tsai, MuchelleB, Matt D’Avella and Kalyn Nicholson. I was watching a lot of their videos, and they were really focused on productivity, self love, and self help.
Well, Matt D’Avella does something really cool for 30 days, every month and he posts about his experience. Some are really cool and I’ve applied it to my life (meditating daily) and some sound just painful (cold showers on a daily basis? Hell no). But, I wanted to use the 30 day challenge to try a new twist on the gratitude journal.
Typically, a gratitude journal means you sit down for a few minutes, and journal each day. Most people suggest the morning time as it sets the tone for your day. I do admit that this did help me, but instead of gratitude, I would set my intentions for the day. That’s a story for a different day though, sorry. When you journal, you are supposed to write down a few lines of what you are grateful for – your health, your family, your career, etc. After a few days, it gets repetitive though and it requires you to look a little further into your life and get more focused – the way my dog greets me every time I come home, or having a hot meal ready for me when I am off work, or 30 days of exercise each morning, etc.
Well, like many people in the world, I am not good at keeping habits and gratitude journals were one of my failures. I couldnt find “deep” things to be grateful about and I felt like a shallow shell of a human who was ungrateful and couldn’t see the silver lining in things. Well, that person sucked and was beating herself up because she didn’t know what to look for.
So, I tried something new for a few months on and off, and it worked really well. If you are someone who wants to try gratitude journals, give this a go. Maybe it’ll help 🙂
WHAT I DID
Well, it’s simple. At the end of the month, I sat down and opened my notebook to a blank page and I wrote the month at the top, and numbered each line for however many days there were in the month. Then, I will look at my calendar, and see what things I have scheduled for that month on those days, and write out everything that I am looking forward to. It can be anything from gym sessions, new workouts, a shopping day, a manicure, or even just a coffee with a friend you haven’t seen in a while. Just write down whatever is sparking joy (LOL).
I like to do a two page spread, because on the page next to it, I will do the same layout, but instead of writing it in advance, I will sit down for a few minutes at the end of each day (or the next morning, depending on how many whiskeys I had the night before) to write down what I was excited / happy / grateful for that day.
At the end of the month, you will get to have a comparison next to each other. I found that I usually had twice as many things I was excited and happy about than I had originally thought. This was a great way for me to realize the little things that sparked joy in me.
So, if you’re up for it, please join me in doing this challenge!
