Daily Journaling -- 10 Gratitudes
Channel: George Kao
Date: 2015-08-06

Recently stumbled upon a journaling practice that is working well for me.  See if it helps you too!

Each morning, write 10 things you are grateful for, using this format:

3 Good Things in the past 24 hours you feel grateful for...
e.g. accomplishments, people, interactions, appreciation, insights, experiences, events, places, objects.

3 Mundane Things -- everyday things you sometimes/often take for granted, but can be grateful for.

3 Negative Things you can be grateful for...
Things that went wrong, where you can find a silver lining / blessing.  OR, negative mind states that you were able to transform into positive.

1 Eternal Truth
e.g. My destiny is secure and towards complete Understanding, Freedom, and Love, and I can rest in that fact today and act from that state of grace.  
e.g. God's mercy, wisdom, goodness, love, and power endures forever.

***

If you have more than 3 Good Things to write down, wonderful!   That can make up for some of the other items.

By writing Good as well as Mundane things to be grateful for, you become naturally *more attuned* to them during the day.  

Over time, this increases your quality of life.  Since you become better at noticing the Good, you tend to naturally go toward those experiences more, and be more open to those things coming into your life.

Regarding why write down the Negative Things (to be grateful for) -- by doing this over time, you will come to realize that *anything* that happens to you can be reframed in a positive light, and therefore, the "hard" things in life become bearable... even meaningful.

Alternatively, when you write down the negative states that you were able to recover from, or transform into positive, you come to a very powerful realization:

*No bad feelings are permanent* even though in the moment it often feels like it ("I'll be angry with this person forever" ... "I'll never succeed" ... etc.)  -- You will see the Truth that negative states are *always temporary* and even more, they can always be transformed into positive (or at least neutral) mind states.  How?  By experimentation, practice, and experience!   And when you make a successful experiment (e.g. "I stopped wallowing in sadness by taking a moment to remember the many times that this person has treated me well...") it is a very useful thing to *write it down*, which is what this journaling practice can be for you.

Regarding how to make this journaling a habit, I find it very helpful to make it the same time and place everyday.  For me it's on the can each morning :)

This practice could work well at night too, to serve as a review of the day.

Try this journaling and let me know how it goes!

(If you have a journaling practice that you love, feel free to comment below as well.)

May you become more conscious of the true abundance of Good in your life... and your power to turn negative into positive experiences!

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