Posted by Anne

Several weeks ago, I wrote about journaling my gratitude.  Upon finding an old gratitude journal of sorts in the unruly stack of volumes next to my bed, I decided it was time to dust it off and try again.  So, for the last couple months, I’ve done my best.  Do I feel more grateful?  More grounded?  More anything?  Well, it’s time to report back. 

My routine:

I write in the journal in the morning—before turning on the morning news, but usually after doing any writing I need to do for the day.  My entries include two recorded items—elements of my life for which I’m grateful, and people who I would like to remember in my prayers that day.  The entire process takes approximately 5 minutes…give or take a couple of minutes. 

My grade:

I’m giving myself an A for effort, but a C for consistency.  I will go ahead and admit—I’ve missed days.  Plenty of days.  This disappointments me, because it seems as though this small a commitment should be easy to tackle.  But I’ve learned plenty from simply attempting this exercise, and from the numerous days I have met the goal of starting the day on a more contemplative foot.   

What I’ve learned:

1. Beginning a new routine is tougher than I’d imagined.  I’m someone who grows very attached to my evening and morning routines. It’s amazing how I resist rewriting my routine, even in such a minute way.  And even more interesting is how easy it would be to give up, simply because I miss a couple days.  Oh, I’m already off track with this…obviously it’s not something I should continue. But that would be a cop-out.  So I’ve continued.

2.  First thing in the morning, it’s insanely easy to opt for entertainment over contemplation.  Reading other people’s blogs.  Watching the news.  Reading the overnight recap of LOST or American Idol on Entertainment Weekly Online. (Yes, I’m a junkie for entertainment journalism.)  All these activities are passive on my part, and exist solely for my entertainment or information.  It often feels like it takes more energy—even when it’s just 5 minutes—to actively contemplate my blessings and prayers.  So the temptation is to say, “I’ll do it later,” when I know I won’t, and flip on the internet or TV. 

3.  When I do begin my day with contemplation rather than those forms of entertainment, I also feel more grounded.  More present.  And more peaceful.  There’s just something about starting your day with pen and paper, rather than keyboard or screen, that feels more natural.  More calming.

4. You can’t multi-task gratitude.  I learned this little tidbit yesterday, while drying my hair.  I have to preface this by saying…I rarely dry my hair.  I think it’s boring.  I’d rather let it air-dry, and throw it in a ponytail.  But sometimes I like to look more professional or whatever, and so I break down and allot more time in my morning routine for this un-fun beauty task.  Yesterday, I was running late by adding the hair-dry time, and so for a minute or two I tried to mentally do my gratitude journal for the day, while drying my hair.  It was a disaster.  For a split second I even thought about saying my “gratitude” for the day was having healthy hair.  Totally distracting.  So I set the hair-dryer down, walked into the next room, and wrote my journal entry.  And felt immediately better.  A good decision, and I was only 3 minutes late for work.

Bottom line?  This journal starts my day in a different attitude. The attitude is more present, aware, grateful…and less self-centered.  I haven’t been flawless, but a small change has been important.  There is peace, joy, and calm that comes from dedicating a moment of mental energy to all things I have instead of the things I lack.  And there is likewise peace in stepping outside myself, and remembering someone else during those freshest mental moments of my day.

When I wrote that original post, some of you indicated you might try the same thing—a gratitude journal.  Anyone else try it over the past month or two?  When was the last time you tried to incorporate a new routine into your life?  Was it successful?