Why You Should Start a Thankful Journal

I have been keeping a thankful/gratitude journal, off and on, since 2013 when my mom bought the book called "The Magic" written by the author of the famous book "The Secret." I did a post back when I first started, which you can check out here. Whether or not you believe in karma, "sending positivity out into the universe" and all that jazz, here is what I have learned from keeping one.

The concept is rather simple, I try to do this every morning when I wake up (or at least at some point in the day) I write down a list of 10 things I am thankful for, then reread what I wrote and say "thank you" in my head. I try to format it like, I am thankful for ____ because ____. For me, I don't mind repeating some things but I try to mix up the list rather than doing the same 10 things every day. It really makes you think and dig deep the longer you do this.

Here is an example from my Pinterest. You can find a lot of references, you can check out my writing board here.

You can do this however works best for you. I have a friend who only writes 3 items a day, but she challenges herself to not repeat things. I know when I do this I have gotten as far as "I am thankful for energy drinks for when I have early morning shifts." After a while you will figure out your own method.

That was the "what," here is the "why." I have noticed that during the periods of my life when I do keep up with my journal I am more positive and generally in a better mood. By starting your day out to take a few minutes and think of all the good things in your life, it really shifts your perspective.

Now, I personally feel like in some small way the more positive and happy you are, the more good things tend to happen. It's up to you if you want to believe this, but from my experience it does make life a bit brighter and easier to deal with even when life is starting to suck. I would suggest everyone give it a try, consistently for at least a month and see if it helps you.

In a world that can be full of constant bad news, stress, and unfortunate curve balls, it is good to bring a bit of the good back.

Have a great day you guys,
<3 Kimmie

The Magic - Power of Gratitude

My mom bought this book by the lady who wrote The Secret, Rhonda Byrne. It is all about positivity and the power of gratitude. The description says:

"ONE WORD CHANGES EVERYTHING For more than twenty centuries, words within a sacred text have mystified, confused, and been misunderstood by almost all who read them. Only a very few people through history have realized that the words are a riddle, and that once you solve the riddle—once you uncover the mystery—a new world will appear before your eyes."

The book has thing you need to do daily to get yourself into this habit of gratitude. Each day the practices change and it evaluates another part of your life. But every morning you write ten things you are grateful for and why. Then as you read back over them after each one you say thank you three times. 

It is really interesting and a lot of the practices really make you think about how grateful you actually are during your daily life. I know you are probably thinking, well I say please and thank you and I am glad for what I have. But how thankful are you really? Do you even think about how good your health is until you catch a cold or what not? Do you think about how thankful you are for your senses, your job, all the little things you have that others are unable to? 

This book really makes you think and I recommend it to anyone.