Achieve Personal Growth Through a Gratitude Journal

HOW TO start a gratitude journal

At the bottom of this post, you have access to a free download. Print out as many copies as you need. You can also upload it to your computer, tablet or Amazon Scribe if you prefer to journal electronically. Write once a day, several times a day, or once a week. Find what works for you. Consistently writing out a list of gratitude will show you just how much you have to be grateful for.

How to use the Writing Prompts

We have two types of journals on Holland Hills Press, the extended and abridged series. Both of them include the same writing prompts. When or if you use them is a personal preference. They are repetitive on purpose because they are simple and open ended statements that are easy to adapt day to day. Other people prefer a blank page for complete freedom and creativity. A lot of people use both and find the writing prompts are a good warm up to deeper self-refection.

This week I am grateful for…

We always put this prompt first as a warm up because it is short and simple. The What can be a bullet list of items/events. If you prefer, write it as a series (i.e., item 1, item 2, item 3, etc). The goal is to get the pen moving.

Here is what made this week great…

You can cover additional items here or dive deeper into an item from the previous section. Even though the word ‘what’ is in the statement, think of this section as the Why or Who. Did someone do something nice for you? Did you make progress on a new goal?

Some amazing things that happened this week…

Was there an event that stood out from the others this week? Did it fill you with complete joy? A gratitude journal provides a fairly quick return on investment. When we simply take the time to acknowledge why we are grateful, the more grateful we become.

What I can do to make next week even better…

If you are new to this practice, you will find an observed life helps you achieve great success. You will identify ways to build on new productive habits. You can also use this personal feedback loop as support when you experience a setback. Use next week to try again or try something different.