You've probably heard it 100 times. "Gratitude is really important."
Why is a gratitude journal important?
Have you ever wondered why a gratitude journal is important? Maybe you've had
one of those dates where you just feel stuck in the muck. And you're not sure
how to get out of that. In this video, I'll show you some almost magical ways
to overcome that. I do a lot of positivity coaching. Not just from this
motivational speaker just-think-positive kind of an approach. I'm a psychologist
and I get down to the science behind positivity and how it works. Here's where
we start, gratitude. The research is really clear about the positive effects
of gratitude on our thinking on our mood and that branches out to affect every
single aspect of our life. I'm not here to talk about the specific benefits of
gratitude in this video. What is it about journaling that has such a powerful
effect? I mentioned in the introduction that there are those days, right? When
you're feeling just totally stuck. The thing that we don't notice is that our
mind is playing tricks on us. It constantly is playing tricks on us. And
the most likely thing for us to focus on is something that's causing us pain or
discomfort or discontent of some kind. That's just a survival thing. And our
brain will naturally lead us in that direction. Journaling about gratitude
forces us to focus on something else at least for a moment. This is why gratitude
is such a powerful part of establishing a more positive way of thinking in our
life. And it's probably the fastest way I can think of to get you into that mode.
This changes the energy and it creates opportunities that weren't there before.
Let's talk about the journaling exercise specifically. I've got 5 specific tips
for you to make this even more powerful. For the first tip, I have to tell you
about Matt and Becky who came to see me for some couples coaching. And I gave
them the assignment to do the gratitude journaling. When they came back, Becky had
actually written down her gratitude list each day. Matt had thought about it. Now,
both experienced some of the benefits. But Becky had a much more powerful
experience with this. Why is that? Because when you take pen to paper... I'm talking
about actually physically creating a list. Now, maybe you can do it digitally
maybe you can just think about it. But there's something about the act of
writing that engages more of our brain. It bypasses some of the old habits and
neural pathways that we have and creates a more profound effect. Actually write it
down. That's one of the benefits of journaling. And I would also include in
this first tip that you get a specific manual for this. A document, a book. Commit
this particular volume to your gratitude journal. So, this isn't the typical
journal where you're recording all of your thoughts and feelings and
everything that's happening in your life. This is just for gratitude.
Get a separate book for it. Get a pen or pencil and actually write it down. Tip
number 2, be really specific. Your brain will respond to this. It's a brain
friendly practice to actually come up with the very specific things that
you're grateful for. So, instead of for example saying, "Well, I'm really grateful
for my family." Actually identify what or who or for what you are grateful. So, it
might be "I'm really grateful that my dad gave me a call this week. That just
helped me to feel great." So, being more specific helps your mind to focus on the
things that are actually really abundant and
awesome in your life. Related to the specificity of tip number 2, in tip
number 3 we're going to go deep. I would rather have you really dig into
something and get depth than to spread it out and go broad. So, depth route
rather than breadth. Here's an example of how that works. I'm grateful that I have
food in my home. Okay, let's go a little deeper. Take a loaf of bread for example.
And just think for a minute about everything and everyone that contributed
to your having a loaf of bread in your home. Think about the farmers who raised
the grain that was harvested and was taken to a mill and ground into flour.
Think about the other ingredients and where they came from. This practice of
going into depth helps to increase your appreciation of even the most simple
things in your world. That loaf of bread probably had hundreds of people
contributing in one way or another to making sure that that was on your table
in your home. Go deep. Tip number 4 might sound a little strange coming from
me because it's actually a negative practice. Now, by negative, I don't mean
bad. I mean we're going to subtract something. In your mind, think about what
your life would be like without certain things. This is especially helpful if
you've kind of come up with everything already that you're grateful for. I don't
know that that's even possible. But if you hit a lull, if you hit a block of
some kind, simply pick something in your world and
ask yourself what would my life be like without this thing. Indoor plumbing for
example. Oh, wow. What would your life be like without indoor plumbing?
Now, indoor plumbing may not have made your list already. But if you look at
some of the common things in your world, I can even look
my office. What would my life be like without windows. Have a nice window here
in my office where I get a great view of the mountain. And it lets natural light
in. What would my life be like without that? It would be darker. It would be
duller. What about this desk? What would my life be like without my desk? Where
would I put my computer? Where would I sit? Do you see? Just subtract a few
simple things in your mind and see what that does to enhance your gratitude
journal. And finally, tip number 5 is to be consistent. Commit to the practice.
I often have my clients do what's called a gratitude Power-Up. And for this Power-Up,
they they take 5 days where they journal and record what they're grateful
for. What if you could commit to this on a regular basis. Pick a time that works
for you. It might be first thing in the morning, it might be just before you go
to bed where you pull out that special book that you've created just for this
purpose. And you jot down 1, 2, 3 things for which you're grateful. To
commit to that on an ongoing basis gives you a practice that you can carry into
your life and really upgrade your experience. This is powerful stuff.
Gratitude is a really powerful first step to creating and living a life that
you love. I would love to put my book into your hands that will give you some
other steps. Pick up your free copy of pathological positivity at drPaul
Jenkins.com.