Gratitude Journal

For years, I have read the research about the benefits of writing down what you are thankful for, but until last Christmas when my sister gave me a gratitude journal, I had never actually tried it for myself.  I mean, on random occassions I would make sure I paused and wrote down things that I was grateful for, but every day, good or bad, to stop and really reflect on what I was thankful for?  No.  I had definitely never done that.

2020 has been a year.  (Obviously.)  And I have never been so thankful that I had a gratitude journal where I could pause every single day to reflect on what 3 things I had to be grateful for that day.  It has been a total and complete game-changer for me.  Don't get me wrong, I still have some bad days, but even on the worst day that I have had over the last year I have not had any problems identifying at least 3 things from the day which made me grateful.  And how lucky does that make me?!?  

We are heading into Thanksgiving week... a time when many of us will pause to think about what we are thankful for.  We are also heading back into a few weeks of remote learning.  So I'd like to issue a challenge to all of my students... every day, for the next month, please write down 3 (different) things that you are thankful for that day.  You don't need a fancy journal.  Just grab a piece of notebook paper, write the date and I'm Thankful For... and then list out 3 things.  Repeat that process for the next month.  While I am confident that you will be like me and end up having plenty of internal rewards from having to approach your days looking for anything good that you will be able to include in your daily gratitude journal, I will sweeten the challenge by offering to buy lunch for any of my students who take me up on this offer and complete the month of writing down 3 things you are grateful for each day.

In case you are wondering, here is what will make my list tonight when I fill out my journal.

11/22/20: I'm Thankful For...

- Break & Bake Chocolate Chip Cookies

- Messages from former students

- Progress in preparing for Holiday & Grief workshop for interested WKHS students

Please know that I am also thankful for each of YOU who read this blog!  And I hope that you will consider taking on my challenge to see how focusing on gratitude impacts you over the next month.

And I also thought you might like this article on The Art of Being Grateful on Really Hard Days.