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Best for Growing Gratitude
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Best for Building a Habit
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Best Design
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5.0
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4.2
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3.9
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$28.99
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$12.72
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$10.40
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Gratitude is like a secret sauce that can instantly elevate our mood. When we focus on what we’re thankful for, our vibe just naturally lifts. It’s wild how our brain needs a little nudge sometimes to see the good stuff.
Practicing a habit of gratitude can help us:
- Experience more joy
- Live a life of mindfulness
- Reflect on our day-to-day
- Cope with stress and anxiety
Practicing gratitude in our minds or even in conversations with friends is great.
But putting pen to paper and writing down the things we’re grateful for takes our gratitude to the next level. In a way it cements it, and more deeply trains our minds to look for the good in our days.
And that’s where a gratitude journal comes in.
Having a great journal that nudges us toward mindfulness and offers prompts to help us uncover the things we’re grateful for can be a game changer.
What to Look for in a Great Gratitude Journal
The perfect gratitude journal comes down to two things:
- Journal Quality
- Helpful Prompts
When selecting the perfect journal, quality is key.
Look for a journal with thick, durable pages that invite your pen to glide smoothly, and a cover that speaks to your aesthetic – something you’ll love seeing every day. The reality is that sometimes you won’t want to stick with your practice. Having a journal you look forward to writing in will help on the days you’d rather not.
The best journals blend a variety of prompts: some that are consistent, helping you establish a solid routine, and others that are unique, sparking deeper reflection and discovery. These prompts should guide you gently, encouraging you to explore different aspects of gratitude.
A well-crafted journal not only serves as a repository for your thoughts but also becomes a friend in your journey towards a more mindful and appreciative life.
Our 7 Favorite Gratitude Journals
The Five Minute Journal (from Intelligent Change)
The Five Minute Journal is the easiest way to start your day on the right foot. Its daily prompts include: gratitude, prioritizing your day, 3 amazing things, inspiring quotes, daily affirmation, end of day self reflection. There’s a reason it’s one of the best sellers across the web.
Best Thing About It: My favorite thing about the Morning Sidekick is the consistent structure, and the fact that it truly only takes five minutes each morning. It’s no doubt one of the best guided journals on the market for daily reflection, gratitude, and productivity.
The Gratitude Sidekick Journal
The Gratitude Sidekick Journal is another excellent journal choice. It’s research-based journal that will help make an attitude of appreciation a core part of who you are. Well-designed and fun to use, it too is worth every bit of its high price tag.
What’s In It? Each day asks what you’re grateful for, helps you track progress + benefits, asks brilliant self-reflective questions, and includes a daily gratitude challenge. See a sample page >>>
Best Thing About It? The daily structure. This journal is the best on the market if you’re looking for really great guided daily practice and insightful questions to help you grow an attitude of gratitude.
Gratitude: A Day and Night Reflection Journal
This journal is the perfect place to record and celebrate anything that you are grateful for and to preserve important memories – as well as one of the best journals on the market to help you cultivate the habit of gratitude. Not to mention it’s beautifully designed, inside and out.
What’s In It? Each page of the journal includes space to record expressions of gratitude, personal affirmations, memories of positive interactions, and commentaries on the significance of it all. See a sample page >>>
Best Thing About It? The design. It’s both sturdy and beautiful. But the daily practice is a close second.
Good Days Start With Gratitude
The Good Days Start with Gratitude journal is a fantastic low priced, simple, and easy-to-use journal. Designed to focus on being thankful for what we have, the big things in life, as well as the simple joys – a steal for $7.
What’s In It? Each well designed weekly spread contains an inspirational quote, space to write 3 things you are thankful for each day of the week, and a weekly checkpoint.
Best Thing About It? The simplicity and value. If you’re looking for science-backed daily prompts, this likely isn’t for you. But if you just want a little space and encouragement each day – this is your gratitude journal.
52 Lists for Happiness
Building upon her other works on the power of lists, Moorea Seal’s 52 Lists for Happiness will help you grow in gratitude through creating lists of things you’re thankful for, happy for, and looking forward to.
What’s In It? This is a weekly journal where each week prompts a list. Some prompts include, “List the simple ways you enjoy being kind to others,” and “List the ways money cannot buy happiness.” The journal is broken into four sections: Reflect, Acknowledge, Invest, and Transform.
Best Thing About It? It’s uniqueness. You won’t find another gratitude journal based on the power of lists. We think it’s worth giving a shot.
The Happiness Project One-Sentence Journal: A Five-Year Record
Make a five year time capsule. This daily ritual is highly do-able and provides a striking sense of accomplishment, and as the years go by you can see how your entries evolve. Easy to do. Great returns.
What’s In It? It’s pretty simple. Each page has 5 years worth of days and a single prompt. Check out a sample page >>>
Best Thing About It? The ability to look back on five years of thoughts, emotions, values, and experiences. Observe how you’ve grown, changed, and become more you.
Gratitude Journal
The prompts in this book are great – fairly similar to the Five Minute Journal, but with some nice variety. That said, the quality of the journal is pretty low. It's just a step above printing off some paper on your home printer and stapling them together.
BUT – if you're on a tight budget – the $6 price tag is really nice.
10 Tips for Growing Gratitude and Thankfulness through Journaling
Even with the best prompts, journaling for mindfulness and gratitude can be tough. Here are some tips for getting the most out of your gratitude practice:
- Start Your Day with Gratitude: Begin each morning by jotting down a few things you’re grateful for. This sets a positive tone for the day ahead.
- Embrace Simplicity: Gratitude doesn’t always have to be about big events. Sometimes, it’s the small, everyday joys that matter most.
- Reflect on Challenges: Consider the lessons and growth opportunities in your challenges. This perspective can transform obstacles into sources of gratitude.
- Use Prompts: If you’re stuck, use prompts to ignite your thoughts. Questions like “What made me smile today?” or “Who am I thankful for and why?” can be very helpful.
- Make it a Routine: Consistency is key. Carve out a regular time for journaling, whether it’s a few minutes in the morning or before bed.
- Include Others: Occasionally, focus on the people in your life for whom you’re grateful. Recognizing their impact deepens your sense of gratitude and connection.
- Savor the Good: When something good happens, pause and write about it. Relishing these moments can amplify feelings of gratitude.
- Look for the Unseen: Acknowledge the things that often go unnoticed, like a peaceful moment, a kind gesture from a stranger, or the beauty of nature.
- Reflect on Your Progress: Regularly look back on your entries. Seeing your growth in gratitude can be incredibly rewarding and motivating.
- End on a Positive Note: Even on tough days, try to find one positive thing to write about. This practice can shift your focus from what’s going wrong to what’s going right.
How We Evaluated and Chose These Journals
Our criteria for choosing this list of best journals is primarily based on first-hand experience. I (Brooks) have spent a lot of time with journals, and have, at minimum, poked through the majority of the gratitude journals on this list. I’ve worked all the way through our top few picks, I own 3 others that I’ve occasionally written in, and for the others – I’ve relied on reviews from verified customers on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
That said, I’ll admit I have not used every single gratitude journal that’s out there on the market. So if there’s a really great journal that I missed, please let me know! Contact info is in the footer!
