Layout Idea: Gratitude Log
/The Gratitude Log is one of the more popular ideas I've shared. It's not surprising considering how big of an impact taking time to think about what you're grateful is.
Gratitude is the single most powerful thing you can do to shape a more positive day.
Throughout my life I've dealt with bouts of depression and anxiety, but whenever I manage to think about what I'm thankful for I instantly perk up because of the way that gratitude impacts me. You can't think about happy things and feel sad. Taking a moment to think about what you're grateful for will bring you to the present and focus on what happened that you're thankful for.
This is the basic layout. It took me about 8 months of experimenting to come to this format. I tried it in the dailies, in a weekly format, and I ultimately like it best in the monthly format because this way I can see all of my gratitudes in one place. I love being able to read through all of the entries and see it fill up over the course of the month. I recommend having anywhere from 1-5 things to write down that you're grateful for. If you only do 2 things you're thankful for then you'll be able to keep the idea to a 2-page spread.
I like having all of the day's entries in a month view like this because over time I can read all of the awesome things I'm grateful for which is especially helpful to read over on harder days.
All of the bouts of depression and anxiety I used to get have vastly diminished since I created this simple gratitude log months ago. My mood is a lot more stabilized with this simple, but powerful, habit of updating and thinking about what I'm grateful for. I set it up right after the month log and update it on a nightly basis as a way to reflect on the good that happened.
When starting out, think about things that happened today, things you're grateful for in general, and ways you handled a situation that you're proud of. All of these are worthy things to be grateful for.
Give it a go and see how your mood improves over time.
I always enjoy seeing how others take the idea and spin it to suit them, here are a few examples:
Do you track what you're grateful for?
Supplies used:
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