The Best Gratitude Journal PDF for Instant Happiness
Last Updated on July 27, 2023
Looking for a quick and simple printable gratitude journal PDF? This journal will help you practice gratitude the easy way so you can be one step closer to a happier life!
Feeling happier is just within your reach. And it starts with something as simple as practicing gratitude. Picking up a daily gratitude practice will put you in a more positive mindset, help you appreciate the little things, and improve your overall mental health.
The habit of gratitude doesn’t need to take any longer than a few minutes a day. And you can take it one step further by using an already-made gratitude journal PDF to make things even more straight forward!
If you want to learn how to stick to a regular gratitude practice with a journaling tool that will keep things simple, keep reading!
This post is all about the gratitude journal (PDF).
What is a gratitude journal?
A gratitude journal is a place to record all the aspects of your life you’re grateful for. They are used to promote a focus on the positive things in your life, which in turn reduces stress and improves mood! Gratitude journaling has grown increasingly popular in positive psychology.
A gratitude journal can be used to document what you’re grateful for on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis. It’s a great way to prevent yourself from overlooking the good things or taking positive events for granted.
Why you should keep a gratitude journal
Keeping a daily gratitude journal will help you be more mindful and grounded in the present moment. In our fast-paced, future-focused culture, it can be challenging to appreciate what’s right in front of us if we aren’t intentional about it!
When you take the time to keep up a gratitude journal, you’re doing something spectacular for your mental health. Researchers found that expressing gratitude improves your stress response to challenging situations.
And not to mention, practicing gratitude doesn’t take much time or energy! Spending just 5-10 minutes a day gratitude journaling can make you feel fantastic. These gratitude worksheets for adults make it easy!
Benefits of practicing gratitude include:
- Lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol
- Reduced depression and anxiety
- Greater happiness and positive emotions
- More acceptance
- More generosity
- Better sleep
- Better ability to overcome trauma
- Overall improved mental health
What do you say in a gratitude journal?
Anything that fuels your happiness and appreciation in life should go in your gratitude journal. This can be literally anything. From eating your favorite food for dinner tonight, to a role model you look up to, it’s all valid to write about!
Some inspirational ideas you can talk about in your gratitude journal include…
- Someone you love and describing how they impacted your life
- The little daily things that make you smile
- Significant achievements or milestones you’ve reached
- Gratitude for your physical and mental health
- Nature and the things that make up your environment
- Positive life experiences
- Material possessions (these are totally okay to be grateful for too!)
- Your strength in overcoming challenges
- Lessons that resulted from hard times
How do I start a gratitude journal?
Starting a gratitude journal is simpler than you think! With so many pre-made gratitude journals on the market, you have the resources you need right at your fingertips.
My printable gratitude journal PDF is all about making the practice of gratitude EASY. I know your life is busy. I know you don’t want to take on another commitment. I know you might not have much time to spare to practice another habit. And I get it!
Click here to purchase the Printable Gratitude Journal PDF
That’s why my gratitude journal keeps it simple. Starting the journal is as simple as printing it out, putting it in a nice little binder if you like, and getting to it! The pages are simple, quick, and straight-forward. With this journal, you get the opportunity to practice gratitude:
- In the morning
- At night
- Weekly
- Monthly
And it doesn’t need to take up much of your time either! Just setting aside a few minutes each day is all you need to get started with living a more grateful life.
Here’s a look inside the Gratitude Journal PDF
Printable Gratitude Journal Pages Included (12 pages):
- Cover page
- Morning gratitude
- Evening Reflection
- Weekly Gratitude
- Monthly Reflection
- Gratitudes In Every Area
- Gratitude Prompts
- Gratitude Journaling
- My Gratitude Journey
- Gratitude Goals
- Notes, lined
- Notes, blank
Morning Gratitude Worksheet
Start your morning off right with the morning gratitude page! Of all the pages in this gratitude journal PDF, this one is definitely a must so that you’re starting your day with a positive mindset.
Simply list 3 things you’re grateful for. Then, think about a few challenges you might face today and how you’ll plan to tackle them. Visualizing a game plan like this will put you at ease and help you decide how you’ll approach the day.
Lastly, name 3 goals and 3 affirmations. If you feel like you have a ton of things to get done, just prioritize the top 3 so you don’t overload yourself! When listing 3 affirmations, think about what you need to hear most today. If you’ve been doubtful of yourself, maybe you need to hear “I am capable!”
Click here to purchase the journal.
Evening Reflection Worksheet
This evening reflection gives you the chance to look back on your day and see how the things you mentioned in your morning gratitude sheet played out.
After naming 3 things that made you smile today, you’ll revisit the challenges you faced and what you learned from them. Take note: did something pop up that you didn’t anticipate? Did things go smoother than expected?
To wrap it up, list 3 things you accomplished today and 3 things to let go. Sometimes on days where we feel like we didn’t get anything done, we still did more than we give ourselves credit for! So think back to any small wins or little tasks you completed. They’re worth acknowledging. When thinking of 3 things to let go, identify any negative thoughts, habits, or behaviors you’d like to release.
Weekly Gratitude Template
Super duper simple is the weekly gratitude page. Each week, track what made you feel most grateful and why! See if you notice any patterns or if anything comes up that you didn’t expect to see.
Monthly Reflection for 30-Day Gratitude
For each month of the year, document the BEST thing about that month! This is a fabulous way to remember exactly how the year went (especially when it can sometimes feel like a total blur!).
Instead of letting every month blend together into one big mush, you’re staying grounded and focused on the month-to-month happenings.
RELATED: 70+ Easy and Fun Journal Prompts for Beginners
Gratitude List for Every Area of Your Life
As cheesy as it may sound, there really is so much to be grateful for. In every area of your life! This worksheet will help you reflect on the good in every single aspect. Super helpful for when we tend to overlook an entire area if it’s not at the forefront of our day-to-day life.
Gratitude Journal Template Prompts
Enjoy long-form journaling but never know what to write about? Not anymore! These gratitude PDF worksheets give you a huuuugeee list of gratitude journal prompts to choose from! You won’t run out of ideas for a long time. (And if you want even more, go check out my post on 40 helpful and refreshing gratitude prompts.)
The Printable Gratitude Journal can be purchased here.
Lined pages for gratitude journaling
After getting some inspiration from the gratitude journal prompts in the previous sheet, now it’s time to get writing! Feel free to use the prompt ideas given to you or anything that comes to mind.
Gratitude journaling in the form of writing a response to a prompt is a great way to dig deeper and fully immerse yourself in a positive mindset. You’ll feel so much lighter and happier after. I know I always do!
Reflecting on Your Habits and Gratitude Journey
This gratitude journey page will help you reflect on the then and now. Usually as we grow and get older, we’re more aware of all that we have to be grateful for. So it’s likely that you’ve changed, and it’s clear you care about gratitude being a part of your life or you wouldn’t be reading this right now!
Take some time to think about what you’re grateful for now that you used to not be. Think about each area of your life or what has changed over the years. Next, write a few sentences about how you’ve gained a greater gratitude awareness.
Lastly, what are some affirmations you now believe that you used to struggle with? This is a great marker of self growth! Be sure to also name some healthy habits you’ve picked up.
RELATED: 55 Feel-Good Journal Prompts for Happiness
Gratitude Goals
While I’m sure you’ve come a long way, a little improvement never hurts! We can always be striving for better, and I’ll take a guess that you’re here because you want to get into a better habit of regular gratitude.
Start off by considering: what are the top 3 areas of your life you can express more gratitude in? You can refer back to the Gratitudes In Every Area worksheet for this. You also get some handy ideas for how you can practice more gratitude!
What do you suspect prevents you from practicing more gratitude? Is it time? Struggle with sticking to habits? Just plain forgetting about it? Elaborate!
Because there’s no sense in talking about this stuff without creating a bit of an action plan, decide on how you’ll start practicing more gratitude. Will you set reminders in your calendar? Always have a dedicated time for morning and evening gratitude journaling? You decide, but be realistic and intentional.
And there you have it!
Click here to buy the Gratitude Journal PDF Download!
I can’t wait for you to use it!
How to Keep a Gratitude Journal
So, what’s the best approach to keeping up with a gratitude journal? You’ve gotta make it a habit. There’s several ways to add this into your routine!
Tips for Creating a Daily Gratitude Routine
If you want to turn your journaling into a daily gratitude habit, try these tips!
- Set an alarm or reminder on your phone for scheduled gratitude journaling
- Start small. Don’t overwhelm yourself by thinking you need to jot down a giant gratitude list. Even the classic “3 things I’m grateful for” does the job!
- Always be on the lookout for positive things in your daily life to save for your journal sessions
- Practice mindfulness in the present moment. Pay attention to what is currently happening in your life right now that makes it so awesome!
- Schedule your gratitude practice at the same time everyday (or start with every week, if that’s more manageable). This makes it so much easier to be consistent!
For example, in this gratitude journal template PDF, you would ideally use the Morning Gratitude and Evening Reflection worksheets daily. You could set an alarm for 8:00am and 8:00pm each day where you set aside 5-10 mins to complete these pages.
Once a week, you can set a reminder in your calendar to add to the Weekly Gratitude page. And once a month, you can set a reminder to add your highlight to the Monthly Reflection page.
Being intentional and setting clearly scheduled times to work on a habit is the best way to instill it into your routine. Practicing gratitude is no different!
This post was all about the gratitude journal PDF.
Final Thoughts on Using a Gratitude Journal PDF
Having a specific go-to tool like a gratitude journal will make it easier to form the habit of expressing gratitude. It’s so much easier to have something already made up for you. Just fill in the blanks!
And now you know exactly how the gratitude journal PDF makes practicing gratitude super quick and easy.
Dedicating just a short time each day to practicing gratitude will leave you feeling so much happier, fulfilled, and less stressed. So I say it’s a super small sacrifice of time for big benefits.
Here’s to a more grateful life!
Psst….if you like the gratitude journal, you’ll also LOVE my printable mental health journal and printable goal planner!
More Worksheets and Prompts You’ll LOVE
I Made a Printable Mental Health Journal….And It Will Change the Way You Cope
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This PDF Goal Setting Worksheet Will Help You KILL Your Goals
40 Helpful and Refreshing Gratitude Prompts
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