Or do they?

One of my favorite verses from Psalms is Psalm 136:1, “Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, for His steadfast love endures forever.” Growing up I learned that we must be grateful in all things and in all circumstances. It is a concept that I knew in my mind but it never really made it to my heart.

I will be the first to admit that this often has been difficult for me. Sometimes life would get me down and it would be very hard to show gratitude in the situation. I had heard over the years the importance of keeping a gratitude journal. I never really gave keeping a gratitude journal much thought until I began my Life Coaching certification through the QSCA. Here comes one of our assignments, keep a gratitude journal. Well, that sounds easy enough right, well for me it wasn’t. Keeping a gratitude journal was quite difficult for me. I’m not sure what the resistance was, maybe I let myself get so caught up in the mundane of the day or the darkness that seems to be plaguing my Facebook newsfeed. Perhaps it was because I see others moving on to bigger and better things and I seemed to be stuck where I was, desiring to move but stuck none the less? So here I am needing to keep a gratitude journal so that I can talk to my clients about keeping a gratitude journal and flat out not wanting to do it. I decided to grab one of the journals I had laying around the house and begin. The first couple of days went okay and then after that, I wouldn’t do it again. This cycle seemed to continue. Sometimes I would put the journal in a drawer of my night stand, out of sight, out of mind. Other times I would let my night stand get so cluttered it would get lost, again, out of sight, out of mind. I would watch different videos on the gratitude journal and think oh that is a good idea, do it for a couple of days and then stop.

When I made the decision, I AM going to keep a gratitude journal, I knew that I had to do things differently in order to get the results I desired. I did things differently this time. I made sure I had a special journal with the sole purpose of expressing gratitude in my life.  I have noticed that in my life, keeping a gratitude journal has helped keep my vibration very high and has helped me to be able to give thanks to God in all circumstances. It helps me to see the blessings in my life no matter what the outside circumstances look like. When one understands that we create our lives from what is inside of ourselves, it makes it that much more important that internally we are full of gratitude. I began to see the value and importance of keeping a gratitude journal.

I will admit to you that I have had nights where we have been so crazy, I came home and crashed, not writing in my gratitude journal. I do notice the next morning my vibration is a lot lower than the times I’ve gone to bed after writing down what I am grateful for that day. A gratitude journal is such a great way to keep your energy high and the blessings that God has bestowed upon you. I would like to share some tips with you in order to help you start a gratitude journal.

Purchase a nice journal for the sole purpose of gratitude. It can be as expensive or inexpensive as you would like. I would not recommend buying one of the $2 spiral bound notebooks, as those are easy to use for other purposes like grocery lists. Next you will want to purchase a pen. Pens are quite the hot commodity at my house and sometimes hard to come by. If you purchase a pen for the sole purpose of writing in your gratitude journal, you will never have to go searching for one. You will want to put the journal on your nightstand. I recommend not putting it in a drawer as it will be more difficult to remember at the end of a long day. Also, keep your night stand clear of clutter. This will help you to keep track of your journal and also help you sleep better. I don’t know if you have tried sleeping in a cluttered room before, it is not easy.

I like to create a full sensory experience by adding a couple drops of essential oils to my gratitude journal. Essential oils like Fir, Frankincense, or Geranium are great oils to add to the pages of your journal. I use Young Living Essential Oil’s Gratitude blend. I like this blend as it has those three oils plus others that help to bring about a feeling of relaxation. When my mind is relaxed, I find that I am able to get into a feeling of gratitude much easier.

Be specific in your gratitude. Rather than saying I am grateful for my house, mention what it is about your house that you are grateful for. Talk about specific traits in your partner or children that you are grateful for. List out the blessings from God during your day as well. Don’t just say you are thankful for God rather, what God did you are thankful for. Getting specific about what you are grateful for helps to anchor it into your subconscious mind and into your heart as well.

Yes, gratitude journals do work when it is implemented into one’s daily routine. Do you gratitude? What have been some of the amazing things you have seen since starting one? If you haven’t started a gratitude journal, do you plan to start one? Keep the conversation going in the comments and let me know. Please share this blog with others if you found it helpful and as always, follow me for more Tidbits from Andrea. Also don’t forget to find me on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Google+. I AM looking forward to continuing the gratitude conversation online.