Self Growth

I Wrote In a Gratitude Journal for an Entire Year & This is How It Went

mindbeautysimplicity

At the start of last year, even before all the Covid talk came to fruition, I was in a place in my life where I needed more gratitude. I was someone who struggled with wanting the next best thing instead of being blessed for what I had in that present moment. It was weird because I found myself to be a positive & happy person, but the urge of never feeling fulfilled started to eat away at me.

In the past, I was that girl who kept a journal or “diary” if you will. But I cringe at the thought of those years because I would only write about the really shitty moments & drama that filled my teenage mind, like whether a boy didn’t text me back or not. I never thought of simply writing down the good things.

And let me tell you, (not to sound dramatic) but it really changed my outlook on life. I always knew I had plenty to be grateful for. But it’s human nature to focus on those prominent issues in life. My problems became the forefront to my identity which in turn caused me to have low self esteem. Not to mention, people’s words can be incredibly hurtful. By focusing on gratitude, I was able to gain that confidence back & blow off any ignorant comment that was causing me to feel stuck. And I’m not saying people can’t hurt my feelings, but it definitely takes a lot more to get me flustered.

It’s amazing when you simply ignore the judgmental comments & focus on the positives (even the smallest of accomplishments) you begin to grow stronger. The more positive I wrote, the thicker my skin became. I started to see the talented woman I am & all the amazing attributes I do bring to the table. I’m ok with owning my confidence & feeling proud of who I am. And even if I’m still a work in progress (I mean, who isn’t?) I have the strength to power through.

I have always struggled with vulnerability (mainly with relationships) & being honest with myself. So, when it came down to writing these statements, it was actually really hard. It started off simple like “I went to Starbucks & got a chai tea latte.” Being honest with myself & realizing that was the highlight of my day was a hard pill to swallow. I thought my days had to be filled with huge accomplishments, otherwise I was a failure. But eventually, I grew to accept the simpleness to my life & the statements became more profound like, “opening up about my feelings & sharing those struggles helped me grow as a person.”

But regardless if the statements were simple or deep, I started to appreciate all of them. I don’t know if you all have seen the new Pixar movie, Soul. But it’s definitely a film directed to adults. Life is so much more than what you do, your status & what you’ve accomplished. Sure, those things are still important. We have to make money to live right? But that’s not the end all be all to life itself. I think the reason I stopped being grateful was because I thought I needed to accomplish such great things to feel fulfilled. I needed the title that would make heads turn, I needed to show off the money I have & those simple pleasures weren’t something to boast about. But you know what? As I said in a previous post, I think we need to celebrate those small victories more often. Once we acknowledge those small wins, we can start to have gratitude for everything in our life. And in turn, we can start living happier.

Published by mindbeautysimplicity

41 thoughts on “I Wrote In a Gratitude Journal for an Entire Year & This is How It Went”

  1. I love reading this! And you are right, small wins means equally a lot with big ones. It is that the part we are grown to see and accept only big wins as significant, rather to embrace the quality of simple small events and to note.

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  2. Lovely! I’m finding the same thing. As Ive been trying to be more intentional and care more about the people around me I find it’s easier and easier to do. Brains are weird 🙃

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  3. Small wins are still wins. I’ve never had a gratitude journal but I’m pretty sure often coffee would be the highlight of my days. This is a great blog post…. and also I haven’t seen Soul but I’ve been meaning to to watch it.

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  4. I think the message here is really important right now because everyone is so housebound, we all feel like we aren’t accomplishing much of anything. This pandemic has taught me to take life slower and appreciate the little things, like being able to drink a nice coffee while responding to this blog is enough. It’s a satisfying accomplishment, not a waste of time. When our thinking turns to positive, it can be life affirming.

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    1. exactly! this pandemic has taught me there is no control sometimes and we just have to roll with the punches. you should def try it even if it’s just writing a few positive things in your note section of your phone. 🙂

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  6. Wow, I really appreciate this post. So often I find myself feeling empty because of my lack of productivity, so recently I’ve been working on appreciating the little things that make living enjoyable. Something like going window shopping with my partner or picking up food to-go. I’m slowly starting to be moved by the smallest activities and I really do believe that’s where joy begins!

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  8. I totally agree with you B! A gratitude journal is definitely life changing when you begin to focus more on your blessings rather than constantly wishing to get the next thing on your wish list. It helps us to see how we should appreciate what we already have instead of taking it for granted 😇

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  9. Wow! This is total goals. I have the hardest time consistently writing in a journal, BUT I love writing gratitude lists when I’m feeling bummed, annoyed or otherwise out of sorts. Thanks for sharing!

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  10. Love this! I always say how grateful i am for everything i have but its a good idea to write them down. My family tends to be pretty negative and when i am around them i feel so negative! I think i will try writing down gratitude. Thank you and I am glad your more confident and positive 🥰

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  12. I loved reading this✨
    A beautiful conversation to have with ourselves and grateful journal is a must. I deeply want to do this but somehow always forget to actually write it down. This post is a brilliant reminder to really try to make this into a habit.

    Thanks for sharing this✨💕 xx

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  13. This was an amazing post, thank you for sharing! I use a gratitude journal currently but I love that you did it for a whole year, that’s amazing! I also love that you pointed out that we only write the negative or “bad thing” because it’s so true. Love this post!

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  16. I have always been a huge fan of giving gratitude its own spotlight. It has really changed my perspective on life dramatically.. Everything you said is so true and relatable to me, I think everyone should read this and do this! 🙂

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  17. Congrats on completing a year! I’m hoping to be able to say the same next year. I feel you only only using a diary to write about bad things. That’s almost always how I’ve written in it as an adult, venting my frustrations. But when I looked back at my teen years, I wrote more like a recap of the day and I wished I did more of that while an adult. Plus, I hadn’t been journaling much and decided for my sanity I probably should be writing more frequently. I’d always turned my nose at the idea of a gratitude journal. I guess the timing wasn’t right for me until recently. So far, so good. I’m using a prompted one now and will transition to my own with my own prompts on March 1. I’m hoping that it helps me focus more on the good I have instead of stressing about hardships.

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  18. This week, I had been intentional with living my life. I was also thinking about writing in my journal on what I am grateful for. I guess I can start it here. I am grateful for the life I am in. I am grateful for the person I became. I am grateful for the opportunity to work.

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  19. This is a great post!! Thank you for sharing. I started journaling at the beginning of last year & have never looked back. I totally agree with it changing the outlook of your life- it definitely gives you a whole new perspective! Thank you for sharing x

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  21. When I saw that you watched the movie SOUL too, it lit my eyes up! I smiled so brightly.

    I started journaling intentionally this year and it’s been beautiful! I no longer experience anxiety, I process things better, and I love it! It just feels great that writing in a journal can make me feel this great!

    I used to only write about boys in my diary too😂😂 I stumbled on my old diary and I couldn’t stop laughing. I was like “Sylvia, is this what you wrote about??”. Lmao! It was so funny.

    Everyone should try journaling!

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