As someone with anxiety, I have been told by lots of people (friends, books, my therapist) that I should journal. Friends tell me about their “morning pages”. My therapist tells me how journaling will help resolve things going on in my head.

But I have resisted.

I haven’t really “journaled” since high school. Journaling reminds me of teen angst, drama with friends, and wondering what new crushes are thinking. What would my adult self have to write that I couldn’t just process in my mind?

Then, for Christmas, a friend gave me a gift with the caveat…

“I know you will hate this gift, so you can just give it back to me if you do.”

It was a Daily Gratitude Journal.

If someone asked me if I would consider using a journal that required me to write down what I was grateful for, I would tell you “never”. I know this makes me sound like Wednesday Addams, but hear me out. I always thought that gratitude journals were very hippy dippy and that I already knew what I was grateful for. So why did I need to write it down?

BUT, when I looked through this one, my mind changed completely. This version is simple. It requires just one page at a time. And it’s not dated, so there’s no pressure of having to do it everyday. You can write in a page when you want to (or skip a few days when don’t want to).

And, I love it.

I have found it to give me a peaceful few minutes from my day to think about simple things that are worth being grateful for. I have enjoyed it so much so that I found a similar version for kids and got one for each of my girls. It’s become a nighttime routine for them before bedtime, and they like that there is no pressure to do it every day. It’s been a great gift for me to give to others who want or need self-reflection or are going through transitions to process, too.

I guess I can be grateful for the ability to be open to new things and change my mindset a little bit? Ha!