Gratitude journal questions to arrive a little lighter

In this note you’ll find a short list of gratitude journal questions that help you notice the small joys of life. I like this method because I truly believe that besides the goal, the “how” also matters.

A few simple questions are often enough so that I can step back a little, think through my days calmly, see the good side of things, and wait for tomorrow’s challenges in a more balanced way. Many studies show that gratitude practices can help people feel better, support mental health, and ease anxiety and low moods.

I don’t think about myself as someone who “keeps a journal”. What I really do is try to think a bit about the “big things of life” (and the smaller ones), the “adventures” that happen to me, and how they affect me, how I react to them. And this is the most instructive part of this whole “project”.

Taking notes helps me to look at a situation a bit “from above”, from another point of view. I write for myself. I don’t think I would ever come out with these notes in public. They are too sketchy, impulsive, unfinished, and many times too personal. But maybe one day, “if I have time”, I will comb through them and put them together… but now I don’t want to write about my adventures. I want to write about the method of this thing, let’s call it a “gratitude journal”.

I came across this concept a few years ago and I liked it. A gratitude journal, asking “What can I be grateful for?”… that’s good! I was already doing this anyway, in my head… okay, then let’s call it that.

I still mostly journal only in my head… I like the idea of writing, but sitting down and really getting my feelings out on paper… I just don’t have time for that. At first I tried. I was excited. I wrote one page a day, every day. But later I started answering simple questions instead. One or two lines. One or two sentences. And lately it’s not even every day anymore… well, it’s not perfect… But that’s not the goal!

Sometimes I look into my earlier notes, especially when things feel “too dense”. As a side effect, I often laugh. At myself. Looking back, everything feels so easy… why was it such a big problem back then? Maybe because at the time I couldn’t see the situation clearly “from the inside”, and I couldn’t see into the future. Unfortunately, journaling doesn’t make you see the future either, but it helps a bit to rise above the situation, to “step outside” of it, and to make better decisions.

Below I collected some gratitude journal questions that I return to again and again. I don’t use all of them, not always, and not regularly. But they are useful when I need some kind of starting point.

Simple gratitude journal questions for any day

• What is one thing (even something small) that went well today?
• What did I enjoy more than I expected?
• What (or Who) made today a little easier?
• What am I grateful for?
• What did I notice that I usually don’t?

I usually do this in the evening, but sometimes in the morning, and I don’t always write. There are no rules. This is not a “mandatory” practice. The point is ATTENTION.

Gratitude questions for busy or overwhelming days

On days when I have no time, the questions are shorter too.

• What helped me survive today?
• What turned out better than I thought?
• What gave me a bit of relief today?
• What can I let go of?
• What didn’t I need to worry about?

These questions help me step back for a moment and don’t want to force positivity.

“Small joys of life” questions for calmer days

There are days that are calmer, when “nothing happens”… or does it? These questions help me notice the small joys of life.

• What was the “small good part” I almost missed?
• What did I see/hear/smell that was actually nice?
• Was there a moment that felt somehow slower?
• When did I become aware of being present?
• What small thing gave me a good feeling?

I often write these episodes down, even if not in full sentences.

Letting-go gratitude journal questions

These are more “specific” questions that help me close the day so that I don’t overthink it, and my attention doesn’t get stuck on the same few thoughts. I don’t use them every day, only when I feel it’s needed.

• What can I let go of? (It appeared earlier, but I added it to this list too.)
• What is something I would do again tomorrow?
• What am I okay with, even if I didn’t finish it?
• What is the sentence that can close this day well?

How do I use these questions?

Sometimes I answer only one question. This is not a “serious” project. I don’t follow a system, I don’t measure progress, and I don’t want to “do it better”.

Sometimes I write in a notebook. Sometimes in my phone notes. Sometimes I answer only in my head. Sometimes I forget…

Why do I do this? Not because it solves something, but because this way I can put the experiences of the day a bit more in their place. They help me live my days, and my “tomorrows”, more consciously, without having to understand or decide everything right away.

We can’t always influence what kind of external effects reach us during the day, but maybe we can influence how we react to them, what they bring out of us. Or at least we can try. And maybe that is the point.

If you are meeting the idea of gratitude journaling for the first time, maybe you don’t need more than this. One question. One short pause. And then you will see.