Researchers have heavily studied the benefits of adding a regular, intentional, gratitude-based practice into daily life. The results of these studies is almost staggering; they’ve found that being intentional about thankfulness can lead to:

• improved physical and psychological health,

• less stress

• better sleep

• increased creativity and productivity

• healthier, deeper relationships

• higher level of resiliency and emotional bandwidth

Here at Thirty Days Journals, we are big, big fans of keeping a gratitude journal. But - because we are in the business of real, authentic transformation and growth - we recognize that our customers (like most people in this world) have been through hard, trying, and even traumatic situations for which they are seeking resources to process and heal. There is nothing wrong with making lists of what you’re grateful for in the mornings and evenings, but we find it critical to address the fact that true gratitude is on the other side of struggle, processing, and healing.

Struggle is the Catalyst.

Struggles serve as the profound catalysts that bring genuine gratitude into our lives, enabling us to truly appreciate the taste of growth and success. Without the tougher, more challenging parts of our journey, our accomplishments would remain hollow, devoid of the depth and significance that struggle imparts.

The Spring and summer wouldn’t feel so energizing if it weren’t for the cold winter.
The sunshine wouldn’t bring so much light and warmth if it weren’t for the stormy days.
Health and vitality wouldn’t feel so important if it weren’t for illness and pain.
Relationships wouldn’t be so nourishing if it weren’t for loneliness or heartbreak.
Success and wins wouldn’t feel so satisfying if it weren’t for the mistakes and failures.
Life itself wouldn’t be so precious if it weren’t for death and loss.

It is during moments of hardship, overwhelm, fear, and instability that we develop resilience, determination, and an unwavering drive to overcome obstacles that could never be instilled or cultivated otherwise. As painful as it can be to go through hard things, our lives, our stories, and our legacies would rarely be what they are without them.

Struggles Bring Out Spirit and Purpose.

These struggles remind us of our innate strengths and capabilities, teaching us valuable lessons and transforming us into versions of ourselves that we never thought possible. From this, we are given a unique power to help support, inspire, and encourage others to overcome struggles as well. How many books would have never been written, organizations not started, lives gone unsaved, or friendships unformed if there wasn’t for hardship, loss, or heartbreak? Struggle is the heartbeat of compassion, of serving, of humanity.

Journal Prompts to Cultivate True Gratitude for the Whole Spectrum of Humanness

In Thirty Days of Gratitude: The Good, Bad, Beautiful, and Ugly, we take a journey of focused inner work on this exact topic. The “work” is to reflect on important events in your life and process how all of it has shaped you into the person you are today. There are equal prompts for the good and beautiful parts, as well as the bad and ugly ones. Because all of it matters.

Here are a few examples of prompts you’ll find inside the journal:

The Good.

Day One. Write about something good that is happening in your life right now that you are incredibly grateful for.

Day Twenty-Three. Write a letter to yourself, detailing the aspects of your personality, character, body, mind, gifts, and skills that you are grateful for.

The Bad.

Day Two. Write about the most challenging season of your life and what lessons you learned through it.

Day Twelve. Write about a time you “failed.” What did you learn and how did that experience impact future decisions?

The Beautiful.

Day Fifteen. Write about the places in which you feel the most alive, free, and peaceful.

Day Twenty-Five. Write about the aspects of nature that fill you with gratitude.

The Ugly.

Day Four. Write about a situation you feel regretful or ashamed about and what you’ve learned about yourself as a result of that regret or shame.

Day Sixteen. Write about a “rock bottom” moment; specifically, write about the people who showed up in ways that surprised and/or supported you.

If you enjoyed these prompts and are interested in doing the brave work of confronting some of the more difficult parts of your life in order to view your story with a lens of gratitude and compassion, you’ll love the full journal. View it, along with the other journals in the Thirty Days collection, here.