The Benefits of Using a Gratitude Journal (and the Best One to Buy!)
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I think we can all agree that life can be stressful at times. Every day it’s important to take a step back and take a good look at the life that you have. A gratitude journal is a great tool to become more mindful and it can have a wide range of benefits for your mental, emotional, and even physical well-being. Gratitude journals are simply a journal that you can record and reflect on all the things or people in your life that you are thankful for. There are a lot of journals on the market and some may include other prompts in them as well.
What are the benefits of gratitude journals?
Research has shown that people who use gratitude journals:
- exercise more regularly
- report fewer illness symptoms
- feel better about their lives as a whole
Other benefits of using a gratitude journal include:
- Being more optimistic about the future
- Being more loving
- Being more forgiving
- Being more joyful
- Becoming more enthusiastic
- Increased happiness
- Increased optimism
- Having less envy, resentment, bitterness, and greed
- Able to cope more effectively with everyday stress
- May recover more quickly from illness
- Increased physical health
- Increased feelings of connectedness
- Improved relationships
- Become closer to God (if you are religious)
In addition to these benefits, research shows that happiness actually makes good things happen. For example, happiness increases productivity, higher quality of work, and leads to longer marriages, more friends, more activity, better physical health, lower stress levels, less pain, and even a longer life. Happiness can add as much as 9 years to one’s life expectancy.
Every morning (that isn’t interrupted by my children), I try to get up an hour before my kids get up. During this time, I exercise, pray, write in my gratitude journal, and try to practice mindfulness. I have found that this morning routine makes my day better, more balanced, more positive, and I find that I even have more patience with my kids! To make the most of a gratitude journal, it’s best to be consistent when using it, but the good thing about it is that you only need to devote 5-10 minutes a day. If you want to bring about positive changes in your life, I highly recommend using a gratitude journal.
The Best Gratitude Journals To Buy
There are many gratitude journals on the market. I use this one:
It was written by Marie Lucy. I checked out her Amazon page and she has other ones as well. In addition, she also has some beautiful prayer journals. I have also used her prayer journal in the past and I found it very helpful. This is the one I used:
You can check out her Amazon page here to see all of her other journals or browse below for a few more options. They also make great gifts for anybody in your life!
Source:
Emmons, R. (2009) Thanks! How the New Science of Gratitude Can Make You Happier.
