Tips On How To Make Gratitude Journaling A Habit
self care
“Focus on circumstances and you’ll be a consumer. Focus on capacity and you’ll be a creator.”
We live in a world filled with constant distractions.
That endless social media scrolling. That binge series watching you possibly stayed up the night for. That constant notification buzz on your phone. That next big sales poster at your favourite physical or digital store. The list goes on… Technology has made us more connected than ever, yet also as disconnected than ever especially with ourselves.
That and sometimes navigating, living a creative and productive life can leave you feeling drained, unbalanced and in desperation of an escape.
Living the gratitude is an act of integrating mindfulness into your lifestyle. Mindfulness is basically a powerful practice of training our focus; our awareness. It is about recognising your thoughts, the chain of emotions and sensations and not let it takes over you. It is about cultivating a habit which practices gratitude in acceptance. An awareness of others, the world and most importantly, yourself. It is simply about recognising your mind yet not let it clouds your physical action.
It is an act of self care. It is fundamentally your wellbeing.
A profound act of self love.
After all, where awareness goes, energy flows.
“- it’s really just about paying attention to what’s happening here and now (i.e. sensations, thoughts, and emotions) in a non-judgemental way. ”
My personal journey towards practicing gratitude began a few years ago when I owned a gratitude diary given by a friend. However I was not very disciplined in maintaining it. I resumed it when I left the Maldives and was travelling for a bit before my Palau plans has taken shape. Being in between career and travels, geographical and lifestyle changes, it has definitely made me a lot more stressed physically, emotionally and mentally. I was striving to feel balanced in my lifestyle by integrating morning and night rituals. I now maintain a gratitude journal.
Every night as part of my night ritual, I would begin my gratitude journalling where I write 3 things I am grateful of for the day. You can meditate on it for a few minutes and decide what makes your heart warm and grateful of in that specific day.
The idea is to flourish in a gain instead of a gap mentality, an abundance instead of a scarcity mindset no matter how beautiful, horrible or mediocre your day has been. It is about taking a pause in the busyness and the stagnancy of our life in noticing yourself, others with a greater mindful awareness. It is about developing an innate conscious tool for a holistic well being. It is about shifting your perspective, to heighten your vibrations and finding inner peace. It is about conquering that circumstances and unleashing the capacity within you that is in there all along.
There is a remarkable and immense power in putting pen to paper. In terms of manifestation and raising your vibration so the Universe is more in-tuned with our wants and desires. (I will leave this in another post on this.) Hence I recommend making sure you get a simple notebook and a pencil/pen for this.
Below are some tips on how to make your gratitude journaling a habit:
Get yourself a nice, simple notebook and a pen/pencil
Integrate this into your night ritual
Ask yourself, what am I grateful of today? What have I gained in a way? Consider including negative situations like avoiding an accident, for instance
Write the 3 points in bullet forms in your notebook with a date above it
Be creative! Do not limit how, what and where you can find gratitude in. ( It could be that strangers smile, it could be the short drizzle in the heat, it could be the shorter queue, it could be a that new song you discovered…) Doodle, use another colour pen!
Keep the notebook under your pillow or next to your crystals (if you have any) and pick it up the next day
Read on it at the end of the week and ask yourself, how do you feel? Do you feel less anxious, more present, optimistic, enthusiastic, alert?
Carry on this practice even during your travels. A new environment, climate or lifestyle means you got more gratitudes to explore
“You are the sky. Everything else is just the weather.”
I used to tell myself to look up at the sky whenever I feel off or stuck and uninspired. And in the white clouds and blue skies, sometimes there are the beautiful pink, orange, purple hues, a silver lining, a beautiful gloom, a rainbow... The sky is our teacher.
Remember, there is always expansion and growth within. We are here to strengthen our ‘gratitude’ muscle. It is not overnight that we learn to live with gratitude. It is something that gets easier overtime and one day, it will just be innate within you. A tool you use in exploring and navigating in our journey called life.
New here?
I am Sylvia— the founder, writer, intuitive healer, and human design reader of Arawme. “Arawme” is basically, a raw me put together.
Interested in more of such similar content?
Join me and others in my mindfulness & intuitive tribe where I will be sharing mindfulness life doses, intertwining spirituality and personal growth, infusing wisdom of astrology, human design, and other tools that I personally use in my life. Begin your journey inwards and nourish yourself with this free downloadable: Bhava.
Meanwhile, do come and say hi on Instagram! Check out other Your Journey Inwards resources below!
