Every time I had searched for answers on how to find joy in life or overcome feelings of suffering and emptiness, one key concept kept coming up which is gratitude. I decided to give it a try for the first time in my life, to see how it felt. I want to share some quotes about gratitude that I found interesting.
A powerful quote from Ajahn Brahm.
“When you want something more, you cannot enjoy what you already have.”
Eckhart Tolle shares that:
“Acknowledging the good that you already have in your life is the foundation for all abundance.”
In the beginning, gratitude journaling felt forced. Some days, I struggled to come up with anything meaningful to write. But as the days passed, I started noticing little things to be grateful for—even on tough days. There were moments when I had to push myself to write something, especially when I wasn’t feeling my best. I won’t say this practice has magically transformed me or my situation, but when I look back now at everything I’ve written, I feel a sense of peace and accomplishment. This is the template I used.
Challenges and Tips
As you can see, there are two sections of questions—one for the morning and one for the night. Some days, when I missed the morning questions, I wrote everything together at night. On days when I was traveling or staying away from home, I didn’t take the journal with me. Instead, I noted down the questions and answered them on my phone, then copied them back into the journal when I returned home. It’s alright if you miss one day—just continue with the next. If you can’t find anything for a day, just put a dot and move on. Use a habit tracker app or a diary to track your progress every day. It’s really satisfying to do, and by the end of the month, you’ll feel happy seeing how far you’ve come.
Here are some of the things I’ve written down in my Gratitude journal over the past 31 days:
- Nature: Snow, the earth, the universe, the moon.
- Comforts: Food, tea, my heater, my home, my kitchen.
- People: My mom, my sister, my kind neighbor.
- Health: My body, no pain, no nightmares, deep rest.
- Technology: Mobile phones, the internet, YouTube, roads, buses.
- Small Miracles: Trains being on time, water, my mom’s food.
- Community: My Sports club.
Being grateful in the present moment
One important insight I’ve come across is from Eckhart Tolle, who explains the true nature of gratitude:
“People say, ‘Oh, I really should be grateful because look at this person—they are worse off than I am, so I should be grateful.’ That’s not true gratitude. That’s gratitude arrived at through thinking, comparing yourself to others. The deeper gratitude is not arrived at through some conceptual process, where you explain to yourself why you should be grateful. That’s a superficial form of gratitude, that’s not really what it is, that’s ultimately to do with ego.”
The deeper form of gratitude, as Tolle explains, is a sense of appreciation that comes from the present moment. It’s not about thinking, but about sensing and feeling. It’s an appreciation of the “is-ness” of life, of what already exists right in front of us. I’m not there yet. I still have to think about what to write in my journal but I have faith that one day, I’ll reach a place where gratitude flows naturally from the present moment.
Gratitude mind map
I’ll definitely continue this practice and share more at the end of the year.
Habit #2: Breakfast before 10 am(February)
For my second habit, I’ve chosen something I’ve been struggling with due to a lack of self-discipline: my diet. It’s completely disorganized. I almost never eat breakfast, and I often end up binge-eating unhealthy foods later in the day. This has led to unhealthy weight gain, malnutrition, severe hair fall and a general sense of physical unfitness. To tackle this, I’m challenging myself to eat breakfast before 10 a.m. every day. I’ll share my progress and results on March 1st. Thanks for reading, and I’d love to hear your thoughts or tips if you’ve faced similar challenges! Happy Journaling.
12 Healing habits 
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