Reasons Why You Should Keep a Gratitude Journal

by Larry · Published July 1, 2018 · Updated March 1, 2022

Spending just fifteen minutes a day writing in your gratitude journal can do amazing things in your life! Scientific studies have proven that showing gratitude on a consistent basis makes people happier and healthier. One of the best ways to get into the habit of cultivating gratitude is by keeping a journal. Here’s a short list of how a gratitude journal can change your life for the better:

Achievement
A gratitude journal will help you note those simple things you achieve. You’ll also be aware of both big and little things in life that you have to be thankful for by recording in your journal.

Happiness
A gratitude journal keeps you happy because it keeps you focused on the good things that exist in your daily life. Once you start a gratitude journal, you are “on the lookout” for good things—both big and small. Imagine what your life would be like if you consistently focused on the positive instead of negative!

Good health
Dis-ease can result from negative energy that has been stored up from your negative beliefs and memories. You can quickly counteract dis-ease by concentrating on the good in your life over the bad.

Earn more respect
Keeping a gratitude journal gives you the chance to better understand the values of life. It makes you approach things in a more organized way thereby improving your level of respect and confidence among friends and colleagues.

Relationships
Keeping a gratitude journal improves your relationships with people around you because you look for things about others to appreciate. It’s easy to find fault, but once you start showing appreciation for the people in your life, your relationships will grow.

Sleep Better
People who keep gratitude journals tend to sleep better because they often reflect on their day before bed, which gives them a sense of calmness.

Less stress
Whether you’re living in a stressful situation or just thinking back to one, your body doesn’t know the difference. It will still fire off all of those stress hormones and create the same physical, mental and emotional tension, whether or not the event is currently happening. By focusing on the positive, you avoid the stress reaction.

Resiliency
You can think of gratitude as being a mental and emotional muscle that you can build with daily exercise. If stuff goes wrong in life and your gratitude muscle is weak, you’ll struggle to find a silver lining in those storm clouds. But if you already have an excellent daily gratitude habit, then your gratitude muscle will be resilient and well-trained, meaning life’s challenges don’t knock you off course as much.

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