ITS PURPOSE AND FUNCTION
The purpose of this journal is to write out everything you are grateful for so that you will hard wire your brain for being grateful and to create greater happiness by focusing on this side of life.
It is a strong base for being happy, but is often seen as perfunctory and not meaningful.
Although it is "simple", it has been identified to create a whole new life and to change the hardwiring in the brain if done over a period of nine months or longer. You actually change your brain so it is automatically more happy without your putting any effort into it!
HOW TO KEEP A GRATITUDE JOURNAL
People who write down 5 things they are grateful for during the day report a significantly higher degree of happiness each day. See How To Keep A Gratitude Journal at eHow.com.
TO SQUEEZE EVEN MORE VALUE OUT OF IT
If you look back at your journal and create two "products" that you can use to make yourself happier, you will have squeezed even more value, for relatively little effort:
1. Put them into category pages that you can look at and/or add to over time.
2. Decide on one or two key affirmations/statements that will have you feeling gratitude and gaining a perspective on life. (Note that you can borrow from the ones in the gratitude section.)
THE WHYS OF GRATITUDE JOURNALING
To create a whole new life
To change the hardwiring in the brain (if done over a period of nine months or longer). You actually change your brain so it is automatically more happy without your putting any effort into it!
Cures depression
Participants were instructed to recall and write down three good things that happened each day for 15 days. 94% of them went from severely depressed to mildly to moderately depressed during that time.
