A few weeks ago, I had a chance to talk to a woman who is relatively new in town. She was telling me about her experiences and what she thought of the area. Here are some of her more memorable comments:
“I was laid off from work for quite a while and was miserable.”
“I got this high level job because nobody with any credentials was willing to move to this midwest city.”
“As soon as I am here long enough to put this job on my resume, I’m going back to the West Coast.”
“There’s nothing to do in this town.”
“How can you guys stand to live here, it doesn’t compare to where I came from.”
She kept talking in this manner for some time. There wasn’t anything I could contribute because my focus is generally on the positive rather than the negative. I did finally realize that I DID have something to contribute and here are some of MY more memorable comments:
“I’ve been laid off for some time myself, but I’ve been using the time to do things I’ve always wanted to do.”
“I’m having fun going to social activities and making new friends.”
“I’ve always wanted to be more active with my church and I’m taking advantage of the time I have right now to do so.”
“I really enjoy the area and find that the more I look, the more interesting things there are to do!”
What do you think happened after that? The woman who was discussing her life’s woes congratulated me on what was happening in my life and then she turned around to find someone else to commiserate with! It may be true that misery likes company, but my premise tonight is that she would not be in that state if she regularly kept a gratitude journal.
So you may be asking What is a Gratitude journal?
A Gratitude journal is a place where you can write down what you’re grateful for in your life. It doesn’t have to be in a cute little book you bought from the bookstore. You can write anywhere…spiral notebooks, spare pieces of paper, your regular diary or journal, set up a folder on your computer and create a file for your thoughts of gratitude. You could write on a piece of 2 ply toilet paper or even make a mental list in your head!
What do you write in your Gratitude journal?
You write about anything that you’re grateful for in your Gratitude journal. You can organize it any way you like. Some people like to do the TOP 10 of gratitude for each day…not going to bed until they have listed 10 things that they are grateful for. Or they may do this first thing in the morning before they starting their day. Others write in their journal when they feel inspired to do so, elaborating on one or more specific experiences that they are grateful for.
So how does a Gratitude journal benefit me?
When writing in a Gratitude journal, you are actively thinking about the positive in your life. The more grateful you are means you are more positive in your other thinking and it is harder to have negativity strike you down!
When you are in a positive frame of mind it is easier to be more present and aware of what is going on in your life. When you live in the present moment, free from reminiscing about the past or wondering about the future it is easier to find peace and contentment.
When you are grateful, it is easier to be in a good mood. A good mood shared with others begats a good mood for others as well!
When you are grateful, you tend to feel good about yourself, have more confidence and am open to opportunities that you may not have been open to before. Positive thought generally attracts positive action.
As I conclude this article, let me tell you about how the use of a Gratitude journal has benefited me personally. Those of you who have read some of my earlier articles may remember that one of my goals was to be a published writer. For many years I would write stories, poems or other things of interest to me but be overwhelmed by what I thought of what it would take to get anything published. I also thought that being published meant that you had to have an agent, that you’d get rejection letters 99.5 percent of the time and that there was so much competition that it wasn’t worth trying.
