BOOK DESCRIPTION
‘Gratitude is the wine for the soul. Go on. Get drunk.’ Rumi
Being grateful is easy…
…when everything goes according to plan.
But how do you keep at it no matter what life throws at you?
Enter 365 Days of Gratitude, the undated daily journal that will help you stay on track.
After years of barely surviving her own emotional minefield, writing coach Mariëlle S. Smith discovered the transformative power of practising gratitude. But, like no one else, she knows that cultivating an attitude of gratitude is easier said than done.
Complete with inspiring quotes, daily prompts, and recurring check-ins, the 365 Days of Gratitude Journal encourages you to create a sustainable gratitude practice too.
Ready to commit to the life-changing power of gratitude? Order your copy of the 365 Days of Gratitude Journal now.
Introduction
‘There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.’
Albert Einstein
Welcome to 365 Days of Gratitude, a journal for those who want to create a sustainable gratitude practice. I’m so grateful that you’re here.
Over the years, I’ve tested various ways of ‘doing’ gratitude journaling, keeping what served me and discarding what didn’t. What you have in front of you right now is what I kept after all that trying.
Why gratitude?
I’m not here to sell you on gratitude. There are many articles and research papers I could be citing to convince you just how great practising gratitude is for you. I think you’re already aware of that, though. Perhaps you’ve read some of those articles and papers or maybe you just know it somewhere deep down—or not so deep down.
I’m not hooked on gratitude because it works wonders on my blood pressure and promises to help me sleep better. Although it probably does that, too.
I’m hooked on gratitude because it enables me to perceive everything in life as magical again. I’m hooked because I’m not the same person I was since I started practising it. And because I slip and return to being that anxious, burned out, overachieving workaholic as soon as I stray from the gratitude path—which happens far more often than I care to admit.
Gratitude is a commitment for life. I created this journal to help you commit and turn your gratitude practice into a sustainable one.
Serendipity + structure = sustainability
Serendipity
My gratitude practice started almost three years ago. I had a job that drained me, was in a relationship that hadn’t been working for quite some time, and my yoga practice didn’t fulfil me the way it used to. I had picked up regular journaling a few months prior and—hoping it would help snap me out of whatever I was going through at the time—had also committed myself to a daily meditation practice.
About a week after I started my daily meditations, I ran into an old university buddy from the time I lived in Dublin. Over the years, my once cynical friend had developed a dedicated daily meditation and gratitude practice.
I had dabbled in gratitude journaling before but had never been able to stick with it. I thought it wasn’t for me. Then again, I couldn’t quite believe just how much my friend had changed since we met last… When he offered to share the prompts he used in his daily gratitude practice before we went our separate ways, I didn’t hesitate.
Structure
During my original attempts at gratitude journaling, I simply tried to write down at least one thing that had made me grateful that day. For whatever reason, that didn’t work for me. Those prompts my friend shared did work.
Now that I had specific questions to answer, writing down what I felt grateful for no longer felt forced. I wasn’t staring at the page anymore, trying to figure out what to write about that day. It made it so much easier to return the next day, and the next. It also enabled me to compare my answers and track my progress, which kept me coming back for more.
Once I realised which of the prompts didn’t work for me, I began to leave some out, modified others, and brought in new questions to answer, the final result of which I am now sharing with you.
Sustainability
Gratitude journaling brings me so much. It slows me down. It reminds me to take deep breaths in and out. It stops me from pushing myself too hard, too often. It brings me joy. Happiness. Appreciation. It reminds me of all I have going for me, no matter the kind of day it’s been.
It really has been the key I was looking and ready for when it showed up in my life.
But, even now, after years of practice, I have to consciously decide to do the work. That it came at the right time and with the structure I needed doesn’t mean I don’t get off track, especially when the going gets tough.
I used to become angry and utterly frustrated with myself when this happened, but now I simply sit myself down (read: force myself to take a break) and return to my practice. And because it’s such a simple, structured practice, it’s easier to pick up again than I often think.
Of course, some days or even weeks will be easier than others, but that’s another thing gratitude journaling has brought me. No matter how far I stray, I am grateful for having something to return to. For all the days I ignore my practice, I’m grateful for all the days I do pick up my journal and let the miracle that is life unfold in front of me.
That attitude, that’s what gratitude practice is all about for me. And I would never have developed it if it weren’t for the prompts in this book. It is my hope that they will help you develop that same attitude so you can reap the same benefits.
Mariëlle
Mariëlle S. Smith is a coach for writers and other creatives, an editor, and a (ghost) writer. Early 2019, she moved to Cyprus, and island in the Mediterranean Sea, where she organises private writer’s retreats, is inspired 24/7, and feeds more stray cats than she can count.
Social Media Links –
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mswordsmith
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mariellessmith/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtnYOpjmj83mvMM2L348F1w
Purchase Links
https://mswordsmith.nl/365daysofgratitude/
Get 50% off the printable PDF until 6 September 2020 with the following discount code: HAPPYLAUNCH. Go to https://mswordsmith.nl/365daysofgratitude or https://payhip.com/b/Hld2 to claim your copy.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08FV15CJN
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08FV15CJN
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