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People often ask me, “does gratitude really work?” So I’m here to tell you my experience and insights with writing daily gratitude lists.
I bought my first gratitude journal back in 2017. This was during a time when I was going through a very difficult stage in life.
Trying to navigate a break up, new job and moving house all at the same time was completely overwhelming.
To try and stay focussed and positive amidst the chaos in my life, I started using a gratitude journal everyday.
I will be honest, I hated it.
At this point, every night I would struggle to think of things I was grateful for. I ended up writing the same general things down each time, eg family, friends, health etc.
I started to wonder, “does gratitude really work?”.
Eventually I gave up and didn’t consider practising again until the beginning of 2022.
What began as an everyday journal to write down my thoughts and feelings, months later turned into my new gratitude journal.
Every night I would get into bed, grab my journal and really think about what had happened in my day that I was grateful for.
What started off as 5 things soon became 10. Then more and more until I was easily writing out 20 things a day that I was grateful for.
During this time I noticed I started feeling happier and more positive.
People started commenting on how upbeat I was and I did genuinely feel a lot happier in myself and with my life.
Here are the benefits I have learnt about:
Strengthens Relationships
When I write my gratitude lists you can bet there are a lot of people that come into my mind.
Taking the time to think about the people in your life and the relationship you have with them is really beneficial.
It helps you to really pin point the things about them that you are grateful for.
Whether it’s a neighbour who always takes parcels in for you, a friend that always makes time for your calls or a family member who always buys you the perfect gift.
Allowing this time to think about them and appreciate what it is you love about them strengthens the bond you feel. In turn this helps the relationship to flourish.
Increases Happiness
Taking time to think about what you are grateful for allows you to tune into all the wonderful things in your life.
You start to realise there are lots of small wins you have throughout the day. These might have otherwise been overlooked or forgotten about.
Thinking back through your day to mentally search for things you are grateful for feels almost like you are witnessing all these wonderful things again with fresh eyes.
This increases your feeling of happiness. It helps you to feel more positive about your day, week, month and life.
Reduces Stress
Reflection on your day can help you to focus on positive happy thoughts.
Having these thoughts more often will increase your overall sense of happiness. In turn it will also reduce stress related feelings.
This works by shifting your focus away from any negative or stressful thoughts. As a result it replaces them with much happier ones.
Enhances Fulfilment
The more you start to think about what you are grateful for in your life, the more you will start to notice these things pop up consistently throughout your day.
Practising gratitude has this chain reaction effect on your mindset. It changes the way you see and feel about your life.
The more I started to regularly practise gratitude, the more content and fulfilled I started to feel. I’m sure this will happen for you too!
Improves Heart Health
Study results were published by the American Psychosomatic Society in which heart failure patients practised gratitude journaling over an 8 week period.
The patients conditions where noted before and after the 8 week period and the results were fascinating!
The results showed reduced inflammatory levels and an increased parasympathetic HRV response.
Increases Mindfulness
By actively thinking about what you are grateful for, you are subconsciously becoming more mindful.
The more you incorporate this into your everyday life the more it will come naturally to you.
Practising gratitude is a great form of mindfulness as it helps to fully focus the mind on one task.
This allows you to be fully present in the moment and really feel the gratitude more deeply in yourself.
Final Thoughts
So, to answer the question, “does gratitude really work?” My answer to you is YES!
If you are new to practising gratitude and not sure where to start, I have a free downloadable workbook to help you get started.
Yes, practicing gratitude has definitely made a positive impact for me as well!
I love this post! A gratitude journal is the perfect mood lifter!
Thank you so much, yes it’s such a great and simple way to lift our mood! x
I’m so glad to hear that. It’s really been quite transformational for me too x
Great tips! Will definitely use this to reduce stress.
Thank you! Let me know how you get on, I’ve definitely noticed a greater sense of calm since practising x
Writing what your grateful for helps you see the light when you’re surrounded in darkness. It’s a very effective tool for when you suffer from anxiety and depression.
It’s really powerful isn’t it. I’m so glad that I picked it back up again. Sometimes it can take a few attempts for us to really embrace and feel the benefits of something x
This is a lovely post and you’ve shared some amazing benefits, thank you.
Thank you so much I’m glad you’ve found it helpful x
A very informative post! And a beautiful blog. A gratitude journal at the end of the day is something I cannot go without. Really helps me to review the day, see the positive and settle my mind for the night.
Thank you and I couldn’t agree more! They are a simple little way to create a big impact in life
I’ve never heard the correlation between gratitude and heart health- thanks for sharing it!
No problem Daphne, thanks for stopping by
Your blog is beautiful! And the post is lovely! Totally agree with journaling to find the quiet peace and joy in your life!
Thank you Susan, glad you enjoyed the post 🙂
I love your honesty when you said you didn’t like writing in a gratitude journal at first! I really believe we have to actually be ready to start this practice. We can’t just start it willy-nilly because we see others are doing it. It seems you were actually ready to commit years later, and I love that! I also write in a gratitude journal every night and love it now! It’s totally transformed how fulfilled I feel in life from the little things! Great post 🙂
Thank you Skye! Yes I couldn’t agree more, it really does work best when the timing is right. I think things aligned for me to finally be in the right place to really enjoy journaling and feel the most benefits. So glad you’ve been able to have a similar experience too!
I agree! There are so many benefits to journaling. It also promotes creativity, eases anxiety and can improve memory. 5 minutes a day is all you need to reap the benefits of journaling.