The Best Time for Gratitude

Take Pen to Paper: Edition 110

Oct 31, 2024

Welcome, friends!

If you go back to my earliest newsletters, you are familiar with my gratitude journey.

The short version is I challenged myself to write two statements of gratitude for 30 days. Within that 30 days, I changed. My outlook was more positive and others could see the difference.

My gratitude journey was the beginning of my journaling journey. It developed hand in hand with my writing habit.

With Thanksgiving around the corner, November seems a good month to write about gratitude.

In this newsletter:

Gratitude benefits everyone.
Gratitude is not just for November.
Now is the best time for gratitude.

Doesn’t Everyone Keep a Gratitude Journal?

With all the benefits of keeping a gratitude journal, I know only a few people who write gratitude. Or, maybe they don’t talk about it like I do.

I know grateful people and people who give thanks, but something about writing gratitude makes the intangible part of gratitude more tangible.

Writing gratitude takes only a few minutes. Even in the worst times, there is something to be grateful for.

The practice of writing gratitude develops your ability to see what you have to be grateful for. You can’t help but have a more positive outlook on life with all you have to be grateful for and that positivity shows.

Gratitude Needs More Than A Month

We set aside a month for gratitude. Maybe that’s a problem. It tricks us into thinking we have gratitude covered.

I wrote about this almost two years ago in Take Pen to Paper: Edition 8. Celebrating Thanksgiving with a big holiday makes us think we need to think big when it comes to gratitude. It tells us to “look at all your blessings - family, friends, and health. We have food on the table, and we are together.” But there are so many little things to consider in these areas. They deserve gratitude, too.

Let’s face it: we don’t all have family, friends, and health. We may not be together or have a cornucopia of food. However, we do have many other things to be grateful for.

Those small, everyday things lay the foundation for the larger things. There is enough of them to spread your gratitude throughout the year, giving you the year-round benefits.

When Should You Start Your Gratitude Habit?

Have I convinced you to start a gratitude journal? If so, when should you start?

The obvious answer is now. Challenge yourself like I did. See if you can write one or two sentences of gratitude each day for a month.

I write gratitude first thing in the morning, and I write whatever pops into my head - from my morning coffee to living close to my grandchildren. I chose morning because it was convenient and got the job done. I didn’t want to wait until the end of the day and forget.

Lately, I have also been writing one statement of gratitude at night, referring to something that happened during the day. Yes, that means I journal twice a day, but that’s just me.

November is a great month to take on this challenge and lift your spirits. There is so much going on in the world. You can’t miss it if you are connected to the outside world in any way. Honestly, even the holidays can be stressful. But some of that stress will be lifted if you start finding small things to be grateful for.

Writing daily gratitude will change your outlook. People will notice. Your little corner of the world will be a better place.

7 Days, 7 Thoughts on Gratitude and Good:

Gratitude can grow anywhere, just like moss on a rock. You have it in you. Just look and write. 🪴
I often write gratitude for my habit of gratitude. It has made that big of a difference.
A quote: “We can only be said to be alive in the moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures.” - Thornton Wilder💜
This short blog about grateful vs. gratitude gives an interesting point of view. I think writing what you are grateful for daily helps you develop the ability to be grateful no matter your circumstances.
I am grateful I start my day with gratitude. It ensures that my day begins with positive thoughts. 😊
November is not just for gratitude. Here’s a list of the many special days during the month.📅
Here’s a shameless plug. If you are interested in trying 30 days of writing gratitude, take a look at my “Daily Gratitude Jumpstart” below. I include different ideas and examples. 🔌

Thank you for reading. This week, put some thought into gratitude.

Until next time,

💚

Susan

Not sure that writing gratitude works? Try it for a month and then tell me what you think. Leave a comment and let me know. I would love to read about it.

🙏Bonus thru November🙏

Last year, I created a free gratitude template for anyone interested in either:

starting a daily gratitude practice
stretching your gratitude practice

The template is 31 topics and example sentences for gratitude. Thirty-one topics will get you through each day in any month. Isn’t November a great time to start?

My journaling habit started with gratitude. It has brought me more than I imagined, so it’s natural for me to recommend it.

I love having a guide and examples when I take on a new endeavor. I hope this template provides that for anyone who wants to use it. There are three ways to access the template.

Access and make a copy of this Google Document: The Daily Gratitude Habit Jumpstart
Go to The Daily Gratitude Jumpstart by clicking this link https://sgsabel.gumroad.com/l/DailyGratitudeHabitJumpstart. Or enter it into your browser.
When you scroll down the page, you should see my Gumroad home page without the “Name a fair Price” section circled. In the “Name a fair price” box, put the numeral “0” because this is free! You provide your email, and a copy will be sent to you to download.

You can also access Gumroad through my website, takepentopaper.com, which has a link to the site described above.

Let me know if you have any problems by commenting or answering this email. Technology and I are often at odds, and I may need to tweak access.

I will post the above in my newsletter throughout November. Remember, the template is not month-specific. Use it any time.

Take Pen to Paper