Gratitude Week- Day 5 " My Gratitude Journal"

One way to remember to give thanks everyday or to just focus on having a more positive outlook on life is to start writing in a gratitude journal. Set aside time everyday or once at the end of the week, whichever you prefer, and list 3-5 things you were thankful for that day. It could maybe be someone that did something nice for you, a simple object that made you happy, the weather, great decisions you have made, list of highlights, or maybe even the ways that God revealed himself to you that day. Pick a time of day when you can be consistant...before you go to bed is a great time so you can fall alseep thinking about the positive parts of your day. Those are all ideas, but this is something that obviously can be done any way. So get creative! Studies show that keeping a gratitude journal raises peoples satisfaction with life, improves health, increases energy, and promotes good sleep.

It seems like forgetfulness and lack of awareness are the reasons we are not grateful, so maybe recording what we are thankful for down on paper will help us to become more aware and to remember these simple important parts of our day. By writing in a journal we also have the option to look back on it weeks, months, or even years later and remember those things...or when you are having a bad day you can just open your journal and hopefuly it will help change your attitude. 

I decided to make my own journal so that it is a little bit more personal. You could just pick up any type of notebook at the store or if you are more of a computer person you could record your thoughts by, well you know creating a blog. :) Here is a picture of my journal I made with scraps of felt, drawing paper, string, and a scrap of one of my favorite fabrics.

You can find a tutorial on how to sew the binding of the book here. It is super simple; only taking about 10 minutes. It would even be a fun project for a child to do.

Here and here are also fun ideas to help get you started.

Happy Journaling!