It has been a while since I have written in my gratitude journal.
Many years ago, this practice was suggested by one of my mentors. He had been successfully using it after reading the 2006 bestselling book, The Secret, by Rhonda Bryne.
It is based on the belief of the law of attraction, which claims that thoughts can change a person’s life directly.
I began testing this out over 7 years ago.
The results have been dramatic at times. Using three different beginnings, I pen my thankfulness for whatever I am thinking of that day.
The three starters are:
- I am truly grateful for…
- With all my heart, thank you for…
- I am so happy and grateful for…
At least, this is how I begin each of my daily “thanks.â€
After penning all 10, the next and perhaps most important step, is to read them aloud. And at the end of each one I say, “thank you, thank you, thank you.†Pretty basic in its approach and structure. Nothing overly complicated or hard to remember.
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Some days I use one beginning more than others.
days, I have a theme and all my thankfulness is focused one topic. Other days, my thank you entries are more random thoughts that just pop into my head. But this technique has worked for me in specific measurable ways.
Let me give you one example.
I was subpoenaed to testify in a slip and fall case in District court. My testimony, as the most senior manager on duty, was crucial to our case. Having done everything “by the book,†it was clear, at least to me, that there was no merit to the claims we had been negligent in our operation of the business. And it appeared that some of the statements put forth by the defense contradicted the physical evidence.
None the less, I wanted to make sure I was confident when I testified.
The morning of my appearance in court, I choose to write my 10 gratitude statements about my abilities as a speaker.
“I am truly grateful that I can remember details without hesitating, “
“With all my heart, I am thankful for my ability to remain calm under pressure.â€
“I am truly blessed to have the ability to think on my feet.â€
I carried this positive energy into the courtroom that day.
And the evidence was clear that we had done our job and the plaintiff’s case held no water. Our Attorney thanked me for how I handled myself on the witness stand. I left the courtroom feeling very proud of myself and my abilities. But more than that, I was extremely grateful to my mentor and to The Secret for giving me a wonderful tool that helped me focus and remain calm and confident.
Thank you, thank you, thank you.
These days, I try to say 10 things I am thankful for as they happen. This technique has been a work in progress. Some days I do well at it, other days not so much. As I write this, I am missing the structure and the routine of writing my thankfulness out daily.
So, it seems I am making a New Year’s resolution to begin writing these out each day.
Knowing how powerful this technique is, I am committing to starting it back up. I have a few empty composition style bound notebooks that I have been using, well that and at least three legal pads that I have filled with dally thankfulness’s (is that a word?)
If you haven’t tried keeping a daily gratitude journal, I would highly recommend it.
I promise to share some of my daily entries in the future. But for today, I am going to get my gratitude journal out and begin again.
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