Find Your Way to A Grateful Heart

Gratitude is a powerful practice I do daily in my journal. If you haven’t considered it, give it try. Not sure where to start? It’s easier than you think. I found the ideal gratitude journal to help get you started.

A Grateful Heart offers a simple prescription for better heart health.

“Daily doses of gratitude are the building blocks of happiness,” says author, Sarah Stevens. She recommends three doses per day and offers endless refills in her book.

Stevens says gratitude changed her life completely and she hopes to inspire others to develop their own practice. A Grateful Heart is sprinkled with uplifting quotes, whimsical art and journaling prompts.

Stevens provides a simple formula, which I’ve found to be very effective:

First, write three things you are grateful for each day. Don’t forget the little things, they often turn out to be the big things.

Second, write two dreams you wish will come true. No magic wands included, but it’s a start.

Third, write one thing you like about yourself. We can all use a little more self-love, right?

Stevens has been practicing gratitude for over nineteen years. She wasn’t always a believer. It was at a low point her life. She was dealing with depression, when a friend suggested she give it a try. Initially, she resisted.

“There were days it was a struggle to think of even one thing to jot down. Slowly, but surely, it became easier. When you take time to write down a few positive things each day, you start to shift your focus, which can be transformative.”

Stevens’ raw emotions from that time period show in her powerful quotes throughout the book, which may resonate with those struggling to find anything to be thankful for these days.

“Gratitude is most important on the day you don’t feel grateful.”

“I never knew how much I would come to need this practice later in life,” says Stevens, who saw a real need when COVID turned the world upside down. She was inspired to create A Grateful Heart , in the hopes of sharing what she considers, a valuable tool that can lead to contentment.

“Gratitude helps you fall in love with the life you already have.”

Stevens continues to count her blessings daily. She still has her low points, dealing with personal health issues amidst the pandemic, which has been hard on her business, Cellar Designs. She discovered her artistic talent accidentally, when she tried hand lettering as art therapy to manage chronic pain. She’s done her best to look for the silver linings during lockdown and offers this perspective,

“At the end of all this, I am not looking for a new normal. I am looking for a new exceptional.”

I’d say she’s on to something and I couldn’t be more grateful in my heart, for the friend who gave me this journal. I invite you to join me in practicing gratitude daily. I assure you, it will help change your outlook on the world around you and lead to a more joyful life.

I leave you now with a powerful question to journal about, courtesy of of A Grateful Heart.

What if you woke up tomorrow with only the things you thanked God for today?