Gratitude journal
Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy. ―Thích Nhất Hạnh
👥 Serves: 1 person
🎚 Difficulty: Easy
⏳ Total time: 10 minutes
🥣 Ingredients: 1 pen, 1 notebook (alternatively, you can download an app such as Gratitude365)
💪 Nutritional values: Gratitude, Appreciation, Positivity, Happiness, Joy
Gratitude journal
📝 Description
A quick activity to send you to sleep with a smile on your face.
Our brain is hardwired to see the negative before the positive. Hence why you remember how many red lights stopped you when you were driving the car, but you do not remember all the green lights that let you through. This simple activity helps you re-wire your brain by thinking about and savouring what went well. You can do it before going to bed so as to close the day with a smile, or you can take a bit more time at the end of the week to reflect on what went well. In order to fully enjoy its benefits, regularity is important.
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This recipe has been featured in our blog post “Discovering the pillars of joy” published on tbd* on 10 June 2020.
👣 Steps
Step 1 – Writing (5’)
Take a few minutes before you go to sleep to write down three things that went well and that you are grateful for. The three gratitudes need not be groundbreaking in importance, small positive events are just as good.
Step 2 – Reflecting (5’)
Next to each positive event, answer the following question: “Why did this happen?” Reflecting on the why the positive events in your life happened may feel weird at first, but it really helps boost your gratefulness and wellbeing.