It makes the practice of gratitude incredible. A gratitude journal usually involves writing down 3 to 5 things you're thankful for each day. These things can be big or small, from a friend who supports you to a beautiful sunset or a hot cup of coffee in the morning. The idea is to focus on the positive aspects of your life and cultivate a sense of appreciation for what you have. A gratitude journal is a journal of things someone is thankful for.
Keeping a gratitude journal is a popular practice in the field of positive psychology. It is also known as “counting the blessings” or “counting three good things”. In general, participants who kept a weekly or daily gratitude journal achieved greater psychological and physical benefits compared to participants who did not keep a gratitude journal. People who wrote a gratitude journal weekly for 10 weeks or daily for two weeks experienced more gratitude, positive moods and optimism about the future, as well as better sleep, compared to people who wrote a journal about difficulties or their daily lives. The debate continues about the optimal frequency of keeping a gratitude journal to maintain its psychological benefits, and there is some evidence that favors keeping a weekly diary instead of a diary.
The results indicated that weekly gratitude journals led to a significant increase in happiness, but gratitude journals three times a week did not. Some studies suggest that gratitude journals produce greater increases in overall levels of gratitude than weekly journals. Exploring the content of the journals found entries that prompted deeper reflection on the cause of gratitude and significantly improved happiness and well-being. Early studies by Emmons & McCullough on gratitude journals found that counting blessings in a journal improved psychological and physical functioning. Overcoming resistance to starting to write a gratitude journal can be difficult, especially if you're not used to writing a journal or practicing gratitude regularly.
Most studies researching gratitude journals have found that including 3 to 10 items in each journal entry produces the most beneficial results.
