Feeling and expressing gratitude is a shortcut to happiness and a sense of well being.
Sounds pretty simple, but it's not - in large part due to the negativity bias that humans are born with. We're biologically wired to pay much more attention to negative stimuli and events than we do to positive or neutral ones. We evolved from ancestors who survived by being on constant alert for the many things that could kill them. Focusing on the negative served them well, but it doesn't serve us, and some studies say it actually harms us.
Keeping a gratitude journal is a practice that can help rewire our brains and overcome our natural negativity bias. As we consciously seek out the positive in our lives, we'll find more of it. Reflecting and writing about it further imprints the positive into our consciousness. As we focus more and more on the beauty, the not so beautiful fades into the background, no longer occupying center stage. It’s a simple exercise, but the benefits are life changing - less worry, more trust, more hope and more joy. Gratitude.
There's no right or wrong way to keep a gratitude journal, the key is consistency. Here are a few tips to make the habit stick:
* Come up with a set number of things to write about each day. 5-10 is a good amount to start with.
*Habit stack. For example: If you drink coffee in the morning or herbal tea in the evening, try writing in your journal while sipping your beverage. Linking the two in your mind will make you less likely to forget.
* Make it a ritual: set aside a certain amount of time, and try to write at the same time every day. Find a particular place that you like to sit while writing. Maybe light a candle. Maybe start or end your writing session with two minutes of breathwork.
Some people write out a list on scraps of paper that they immediately throw away. Others write in beautiful journals that they keep and look back on. Figure out what works for you and just get started. The return on investment is too great not to.