The Reluctant Gratitude Journal

Some people are reluctant to journal. It sounds to Pinterest-perfect. Can writing things down change anything? For those who finally do it, they can speak to its help. Believe it or not, keeping a journal, specifically a gratitude journal, can even halt an emotional or mental spiral. It can retrain brain pathways of negative and overwhelming thoughts. In a nutshell, it can bring hope.

When you get started, it can seem like the things that come to mind seem silly, trite, and not worth writing down. It’s worth persevering, though. You can write that you are thankful for the coffee that was brewing. You can even be thankful for bloopers because they make you laugh or “minimum standards,” like the kids not burning down the house while on their own.

It may seem that nothing profound happened, but before long, a shift can be noticed. It can leave you slightly more optimistic and more focused on the positives in your life.

The Power of the Mundane

What a new journaler learns in gratitude isn’t about being perfect. It’s not about sitting in some state of delusion saying, “Everything is fine,” as the world crashes around you. It’s about finding those little glimmers of goodness and gold in the messiness.

Perspective can shift. The neighbor’s dog that previously irritated you when he howled at night before sleeping, can become a rhythm you enjoy or count on. Rather than seeing the bird nest in the bike helmet as an annoyance, you start to see the beauty of life intermingling.

Sometimes it can feel forced, like, really how grateful can you be for reheated leftovers or that your jeans still sort of fit? However, a shift may occur where you see food on the table instead of leftovers or that you still fit in your jeans although a lot of life has passed. All these can become reminders that God is present, even when life feels stormy.

The Bible is all about gratitude. Paul wrote about being thankful while in prison. Prison!! He wasn’t hash-tagging #blessed from a hammock on a tropical beach. Even David poured his heart out in the Psalms, giving thanks even when his enemies were breathing down his neck.

Gratitude isn’t denial – it’s defiance! It’s saying, “Yeah, this is hard, but God’s goodness is harder to ignore.”

Gratitude Journal Hacks

So how do you start a gratitude journal when life feels overwhelming? Here are a few tips.

Keep it messy

Forget about all the pretty notebooks and gel pens. Use the back of your grocery list or napkin or the notes app on your phone. Gratitude isn’t about aesthetics, it’s about honesty.

Thank God for the weird stuff

Thank God for those awkward conversations. Maybe you can laugh about it now. That flat tire that made you miss your meeting – maybe God protected you from an accident down the road. God has a habit of leaving little crumbs of joy, even in the ugliest times, you just have to look for them.

Invite others in

Gratitude loves company. That’s a saying, right? Well, not exactly but it should be because it’s fun to share something you’re thankful for with a friend or your family member. Ask them to do the same. It’s not about one-upping each other, but it is a way to remind each other that light still exists, even in the darkest moments.

Look backward

Gratitude isn’t always just about what happened today. It can be about yesterday too. Write down how God showed up for you last week, last month or even last year. Sometimes hindsight reveals miracles we missed in the moment.

Flip the script on complaints

The next time you find yourself grumbling about something, turn it into gratitude. Complaining about that never-ending pile of laundry? Be thankful you have clothes to wear and little ones who are creating that pile. Frustrated in traffic? It’s a reminder that you have a job to drive to and you can also be thankful for the podcast you get to listen to in its entirety. Complaints are gratitude in disguise.

Be thankful for the “no’s” in your life

It’s easy to be thankful when things work out the way you want them to, but what about the doors that slam shut? The canceled plans, the unreturned calls, or the rejection letter can serve as reminders that not every “no” is a loss. Sometimes these “no’s” redirect us to better things. Write down one “no” that you can look back on now with gratitude.

Getting Help

Keeping a gratitude journal can allow you to see a mosaic of God’s faithfulness – one mismatched, tangled day at a time. Gratitude can transform your perspective, not by erasing your challenges, but by anchoring them in moments of God’s faithfulness. Even in the messiness of life, gratitude has a way of weaving together those mismatched, tangled days into something beautiful.

Gratitude asks us to pause, to notice, and to give thanks for the glimmers of goodness that shine through the storms. When we do, we realize that we’re not just journaling about gratitude, but we are writing a story of resilience, faith, and joy. Gratitude may not fix everything, but it reminds us of the One who holds everything together, and that alone is something to be thankful for.

If you are struggling to find hope or gratitude anywhere, you may need the help of a counselor to work through what you are going through. Reach out to our offices today for an appointment. The therapists in our practice are eager to help you wade through the challenges and find hope and healing.