A year of gratitude. A conscious focus on things you are grateful for can have a positive impact on your emotions and state of well-being.
In a 2003 study, participants were placed in different groups. Group 1 kept daily or weekly records of their hassles, while group 2 kept a journal of the things they were grateful for. The group that were recording their blessings reported higher well-being across most of the measures, including mood, coping behaviours, health, physical symptoms and over life quality. So, a focus on gratitude can boost most and provide a strategy for proactive wellness.
The Balance Planner has space each week to reflect on things you are grateful for. This gratitude journal prompt supports you in a year of gratitude. Having a positive outlook of life can help get you through tough times, providing resilience through the ups and downs.
Here’s 52+ themes and prompts for gratitude every week throughout the year.
Connection
- Family – being grateful for having supportive family
- Family – being grateful for happy times spent together
- Friends – being grateful for their support, chats, love and friendship
- Re-connection – gratitude for re-connecting with long-lost friends
- Social events – gratitude for being able to enjoy social events like parties and other celebrations
- Social events – being grateful for sharing a meal or a cup of tea with friends
- Relationships – gratitude for anniversaries of special relationships
- Relationships – appreciating the support from your loved one
- Love – gratitude for the love you have, love you experience or are shown
- Parenting – being grateful for your children, grandchildren, nieces or nephews
- Parenting – celebrating milestones or achievements that your children have
- Celebrations – acknowledging special events like birthdays and anniversaries
- Colleagues – being thankful for supportive colleagues
Stuff and things
- Money – being grateful for having enough money this week for what you need
- Sharing – gratitude that you have enough, so you can share with others e.g. through donations
- Food – being thankful for nourishing and delicious food that sustains you
- Food – acknowledging the treats you love, like chocolate, coffee, cake or potatoes
- Entertainment – gratitude for fun times like going out, watching movies, going to concerts
- Entertainment – having times of laughter that lighten your day
- Housing – being grateful for having a house over your head
- Water – being grateful for access to fresh running water
- Toys – being thankful for the things you have – toys, games, books, etc
- Clothing – gratitude that you have clothes to wear today
- Pets – being grateful for having animals in your life for companionship and fun
- Technology – being grateful for having a phone/internet/ability to connect with people and work
- Beauty – gratitude for the things around your house that inspire an appreciation of beauty
State of Being
- Health – gratitude for having good health and a functional body
- Health – gratitude for having accessible medical care and people to look after you
- Weather – being thankful for the weather – sun and rain to help plants grow
- Sleep – being grateful for a good night’s sleep
- Fullness – being grateful for having enough to eat that you can feel satisfied and full
- Warmth- being thankful that you are warm in winter
- Comfort – thankfulness that you are comfortable, regardless of the weather
- Work – gratitude that you have a job that provides for you
- Work – gratitude for having a career that gives you satisfaction and purpose
- Opportunities – gratitude for the opportunities you’ve had and your ability to work
- Learning – gratitude around learning new things and growing as a person
- Moments – gratitude for a moment during the day that stood out
- Awe – feeling gratitude for something that inspired awe, such as nature
The little things
- A cup of tea – enjoying a hot cup of tea
- A sunset – experiencing beauty in nature
- A walk in nature – finding peace through engaging with the world
- An experience of a lifetime – having adventures that bring joy
- Snuggling up in a blanket – having moments of great comfort
- Experiencing flow – being totally engaged in an activity
- Learning a new skill – achieving something for the first time
- Creating memories – doing things and having adventures that bring a smile
- Rest and peace – having moments of peace that restore your body and mind, such as holidays, a warm bath, hugs, sleep-ins
- Productivity – achieving things at work or home that bring about satisfaction
- Laughter – a funny joke, video, meme or book
- Reading/Watching – enjoying a great book or movie
- School – having a place that your children can learn in
- Faith – being grateful for faith or spirituality that guides you
- Gifts – being thankful for gifts you have received or given to others
- Conversation – an enjoyable, challenging or late into the night chat
- Clean and tidy – a clean house that feels good to be in
- Music – listening to your favourite music