If you were to read any of my seven journals from the past decade, you would think I was insecure, dark and depressed instead of the effusive and optimistic person I actually am.
I turn to my journals when I am feeling down or confused, when I feel alone and that no one will understand the typhoon in my head. Journaling always provides the solace I seek.
However, with Thanks-giving around the corner, I’ve decided to try a new approach by experimenting with a “gratitude journal.”
The idea encourages positive thinking by requiring a person to write down at least one thing they feel grateful for at the end of each day.
I kept a gratitude journal for seven days to see how I’d feel at the end of the week. My dispatches look like this:
Monday, Nov. 9: Just got home from City College. Grateful to be exposed to such diverse backgrounds, ethnicities and opinions from my fellow students.
Tuesday, Nov. 10: Fought the urge to hit the snooze button so I could get up early enough to walk to work. I love strolling through San Francisco in the early morning.
Wednesday, Nov. 11: Finally picked up yarn and knitting needles for the first time in two years. Grateful for renewed creative urges that will inspire a new winter hat.
Thursday, Nov. 12: Finally checked out the Richard Avedon exhibit. I’m grateful to the MOMA for showcasing his talent and inspired by the beauty of his portraits.
Friday, Nov. 13: Stayed in and cooked dinner with my boyfriend. Thankful for the bounty of food in California and for having a partner to share it with.
Saturday, Nov. 14: Went dancing tonight. Grateful for the opportunity to cut loose, laugh and indulge in late-night diner food with my amazing girlfriends.
Sunday, Nov. 15: After months of back pain I finally feel well enough to start exercising again! Thank you, swimming pool, for letting me get back to a fitness routine.
You are probably thinking: This list is tedious. Or: These are such small things to be grateful for — a class, walk, ball of yarn, dance club and a swimming pool.
The fact of the matter is that by acknowledging and identifying life’s tiny joys, I’m overriding my natural tendency to focus on negative experiences.
My brain and yours are victims of cognitive biases, which describe the human tendency to make errors in judgment based on cognitive factors, such as our brains’ inclination to remember negative experiences better than positive ones because the negative ones are more emotionally charged.
This makes our perspective statistically unreliable.
For instance, we may think we’re always stuck in the slowest checkout line at the grocery store, but our brains don’t remember all those moments we choose the fast line and so we erroneously think we always have bad luck at the store.
By carving out time each day to remember all the good stuff that happened to me — instead of what irritated me — I’m overriding my brain’s default setting and making room to celebrate life’s small pleasures.
In a way, my gratitude journal is my own version of Jewish daily blessings. Religious Jews will say blessings when they get up, when they go to the bathroom, when they wash their hands, when they prepare food, eat food and finish their food, among others. There is even a prayer if a visit to the ocean is your first in more than 30 days.
The intent of all of these prayers is to encourage us to be more mindful as we move through life.
I’m involved in the Jewish community but I’m not religiously observant. Through a gratitude journal, I’ve found a way to adopt the principles that underlie the routine of daily blessings.
This Thanksgiving, take a moment to celebrate and honor the ways in which your life is wonderful, no matter how small the elements.
Start today. What are you grateful for?
Stacey Palevsky lives in San Francisco. She can be reached at [email protected].