I think I'm pretty mindful most of the time of all that I have to be thankful for. And it's pretty much my nature to enjoy simple pleasures and go through life happy (that's a huge blessing right there). But the thought of keeping a "gratitude journal" has always seemed so cloying or overly-sanguine or Oprah-ized to me. I've always resisted it, even though I've been a big journal keeping type for years. But the other day I was reading this little article in my current issue of Redbook and it was talking about the benefits of listing what you are grateful for. Studies have shown that people who keep such lists get sick less often, exercise more and are more optimistic about the upcoming week than those who wrote about mundane events or complained about their problems in their journals. Those are some pretty powerful advantages, I think! Probably I've read such things before, but this time it clicked with me--probably because it sited a study. So I'm starting to spend a few minutes every day listing some things I'm grateful for in my
little work notebook. Hey, it can't hurt! And it's actually kind of fun.
I think I'm pretty mindful most of the time of all that I have to be thankful for. And it's pretty much my nature to enjoy simple pleasures and go through life happy (that's a huge blessing right there). But the thought of keeping a "gratitude journal" has always seemed so cloying or overly-sanguine or Oprah-ized to me. I've always resisted it, even though I've been a big journal keeping type for years. But the other day I was reading this little article in my current issue of Redbook and it was talking about the benefits of listing what you are grateful for. Studies have shown that people who keep such lists get sick less often, exercise more and are more optimistic about the upcoming week than those who wrote about mundane events or complained about their problems in their journals. Those are some pretty powerful advantages, I think! Probably I've read such things before, but this time it clicked with me--probably because it sited a study. So I'm starting to spend a few minutes every day listing some things I'm grateful for in my little work notebook. Hey, it can't hurt! And it's actually kind of fun.
5 comments:
I keep a journal in my nightstand to write down my blessings every day, but I've been forgetting to do it lately. Thanks for the reminder!
And yes, I was talking about Lawrence, Kansas. What a great place! Are you originally from there?
Gratitude and Forgiveness. The keys to peaceful existence.
Love this thought...thank you. I'm grateful for you!
This is pretty much why I blog. Not just as a place to record the everyday minutae, but to remind me to look for the bright and shiny parts of every day. :-)
Very interesting. I can see how it would have its benefits, most definitely. Maybe I should start one too.
And I love that last picture with the autumn leaf. beautiful!
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