Sunlight streams in through the window and beautifully illuminates the leaves of your philodendron, creating the appearance of an ethereal glow. A string of traffic lights turn green in wonderful succession, erasing your lateness and helping you make your important morning meeting just in the nick of time. A neighbor unexpectedly leaves a basket of freshly picked tomatoes from their garden on your front step, the perfect complement to the big Southwestern salad you’d been planning.

Every day, life gives us oh-so-many unexpected and fantastic reasons to rejoice! 

But if we’re not careful — if we go through our day in too much of a rush — these moments can easily be lost. On the flip side, pausing to appreciate the sweetness of life shines a spotlight on these pockets of peace, joy, and contentment — moments that we might have otherwise missed. That’s the beauty of gratitude.

Practicing gratitude shifts focus away from negative thoughts and worries, helping to alleviate symptoms of anxiety and depression. By regularly acknowledging what we’re grateful for, we can significantly increase feelings of happiness, joy, and overall life satisfaction. Even better, practicing gratitude gives a bona fide boost to our physical, mental, and emotional health!

Elevate Your Well-being

A 2023 study published in the medical journal Frontiers in Psychology analyzed the effects of a healthy gratitude practice on individuals’ cardiovascular health. Looking at data from 19 previously published studies conducted on nearly 3,000 different individuals, researchers found that those with the strongest and most regular gratitude practices were also most likely to have excellent mental health. These individuals also tended to be fitter and to have healthier overall diets. In other words, practicing gratitude laid the groundwork for their overall improved health and wellness, vs. those without any sort of regular gratitude practice.

From thoughtful meditation to random acts of kindness to daily reflective practices, there are many ways in which we can all practice gratitude daily. Another very successful option, and a technique that many people around the world benefit from each day, is gratitude journaling. Studies have found that the benefits of gratitude journaling include mitigating parental stress, reducing employee burnout, and lowering stress levels in students, just to name a few!

Tips for Starting a Gratitude Journaling Practice

Want to usher gratitude journaling into your daily routine and enjoy life more — while also nourishing your well-being? Here are a few key steps in getting started: 

• Pause each day to notice and appreciate something that matters and is significant to you. It can be something small like the shoes on your feet or the hat on your head, or something bigger like your home, your job, your family, or your freedom! To maximize the dividends of the gratitude boost, turn this appreciation into a daily habit and try to write down at least three things you’re thankful for each day.

• To amp up your existing gratitude even further, try connecting gratitude journaling to the natural rhythms of your day. For instance, choose to write for a few minutes every morning after you wake up or try doing it nightly, right before you go to bed. You can also experiment with journaling on your lunch break, during your commute if you take mass transit, or any other time that suits you best.

• Free yourself from pen and paper, and not always having a journal available when you want it by going digital! Journaling on your phone is not only convenient but ensures that when you’re out and about and feel inspired to tap into your appreciation for life, you’re set! Try it out if you like right now with the Gratitude Journaling tool in the Innergy App. Another bonus? Jotting down things that you are grateful for on your phone means you can return to them in a flash to uplift your mood and renew your connection with life’s blessings. 

Embracing Positivity

Let’s face it: even the most patient among us can begin to lose our cool when we encounter long lines and crowded waiting rooms. Imagine instead how the time might fly by as you pull out your phone and scroll through your growing list of things you’re grateful for, recapping the delights of previous days and weeks to boost your spirits whenever life might start to drag you down.

Remember: gratitude journaling is a catalyst for positive transformation. It shifts our attention to the beauty in life, just like a flower turning its face to the sun. Ready and waiting 24/7 to counterbalance the challenges of life with free-flowing rejuvenation and renewal, gratitude journaling is a literal wellspring of holistic well-being!

If you’d like to give gratitude journaling a whirl right now, scan through your day so far and pinpoint one moment that you’re thankful for. It can be as big or as small as you’d like. All that matters is that the moment you select means something to you in some way. Then, as you write and reflect back on that moment, notice how good it feels when you reconnect with that positive vibe. Tap into that same flow as often as you like. That’s the wonder, power, and joy of gratitude journaling. Make it a part of your life whenever you can. You’ll be grateful you did!