Gratitude

For some time now, I've toyed with the idea of keeping a gratitude journal. There are a lot of ways to keep a gratitude journal, and surprisingly, a lot of research has been done concerning the benefits and positive side effects of doing so. While some studies on the effects of keeping a gratitude journal haven't discovered it to be particularly life-altering, there are several (linked to below) that insist it can be, well, good for your spirit. The idea behind the journal isn't to simply make superficial lists of anything and everything you're grateful for; instead the focus should be on quality- not quantity.
I think the reason I'm so drawn to this idea has a lot to do with certain quirks of my personality. I've found that it's incredibly easy for me to focus on negative things that happen throughout the day, and as consequence, I often overlook the good things. In retrospect, I know I've spent plenty of days moping about when there was truthfully no reason to. A gratitude journal sort of forces you to pay attention to what makes you happy. So, I think this is what I'll be doing. It isn't going to be an every day thing- one article suggests you keep it to once or twice a week. Either way, we'll see how this goes!

Today, I'm grateful for one particular customer I see almost every day at work. It isn't necessarily that he's always nice- there are definitely plenty of days when he comes in so grumpy you can hardly get a word out of him. Instead, I'm grateful for the appreciation he occasionally shows my coworkers and myself. Today was incredibly busy and several customers in front of him had been pretty short with my coworkers and appeared frustrated from the get-go. When he got to the counter, he could have done the same- but he didn't. Instead, he praised my coworkers for their very apparent hard work. After running themselves ragged all day and being treated a little less than well by the majority of our customers, this compliment was like a breath of fresh air to the people I work with. I don't think the customer had any idea about how much of an impact his statement made. The atmosphere changed entirely and everyone was able to relax a bit. So, to the gentleman who extended this kind gesture, thank you.

If you're interested in keeping a gratitude journal, here are some good resources to get you started:

The details of this study, which examined the effect keeping a journal had on the lives of participants.

Posts from complete strangers about the things they're thankful for.

A cute journal designed just for this!

A smart phone app to keep you grateful on the go.

What about you guys? Do you, or have you ever, kept a gratitude journal? Did you find it helped you see the silver lining a little more clearly?

Photo courtesy of finerminds.