If you are planning on using a bullet journal, having a section in your journal for gratitude is an amazing habit to start and what better time to start than this fall.
It is also highly recommended that you continue it year-round, but fall is a good time to reflect on your list and pay attention to what you are grateful for.
Not sure why you should express gratitude?
Here are some benefits of expressing gratitude on a regular basis:
Helps You Focus on the Positive Things in Life
Many people tend to only focus on the negative aspects of their life. Many things can get you down such as focusing on what you do not have or bad things that have happened to you. There are other things that may get you down like feeling unsuccessful because you have not accomplished as much as you hoped to or focusing on daily struggles.
Expressing gratitude helps you to be more positive and optimistic. It helps you focus on the good things in your life. Writing about the things you are grateful for can help you to realize how blessed you really are.
Expressing gratitude does not have to be limited to those things that just happened to you or your family either. You may have friends or co-workers who have had things happen to them that you are grateful for.
Just writing those things down brings about a feeling of joy.
Improves Your Ability to Empathize with Others
Empathy is a powerful emotion. You may not even realize you possess it.
Expressing gratitude helps you to become more sensitive to those around you and opens your eyes to some things other people may be going through. They may be experiencing some of the same things at the same time as you. And with more empathy, you are likely to connect with others on a deeper level and really understand what they may be dealing with.
Improves Your Mental and Emotional Health
If you deal with stress or mental health disorders like anxiety or depression, or just feel blue this time of year, expressing gratitude can be good for you.
Take the time to write down some of your feelings and things that may trigger your stress or anxiety and it may give you a little pick-me-up to see how far you have come or it may help you realize that you were able to overcome struggles that came your way.
Be sure to express gratitude for those little wins each day.
Boosts Your Self-Esteem
No matter how you feel about yourself, you can boost your self-esteem by expressing gratitude. Focus on the good things in your life and your own abilities and successes.
When you stop and think about some things you have done or accomplished and are grateful for the opportunities that have come your way it will make you feel good about yourself.
In previous posts I have talked about how the bullet journal is less consuming than a regular journal. Just jotting down a few things quickly can make a difference.
Once you recognize the benefits to expressing gratitude in your bullet journal you may want to start your own gratitude pages. Additional pages are easy to add. You can start with just one page if you intend to keep it short or you can also add multiple pages.
Make a goal to write at least one thing you are grateful for each day.
Keep your gratitude pages close to your calendar or task pages so you remember to use them daily.
Eventually, you can have more goals, such as listing three things you are grateful for in different categories, such as what you accomplished, a way you helped someone else, or something good that happened to you or a family.
Happy Journaling!
Pamela
