30 Days of Gratitude Journal Prompts

You’ve got a clear plan on how to start a gratitude journal, but now you have no clue what to write… sound familiar?

But why does this happen? Well, because practicing gratitude for the first time is hard and thinking positively doesn’t come easy to all of us. It’s a practice.

Thankfully, with these gratitude journal prompts, you can make gratitude journalling that little bit easier!

I’ve written the gratitude journal prompts in this post in a way that will allow you to practice 30 days of gratitude i.e. a single prompt for each day.

That way you can start to build the habit of gratitude over a period of time, and before you know it practicing gratitude will come much more naturally to you.

In other words, using one of these prompts each day is a sure fire way to rewire your brain to be happy and more grateful!

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Why you should use gratitude journal prompts

Before we get into some of my favourite gratitude journaling prompts, why actually should you use gratitude journal prompts?

The main reason why I think gratitude prompts should be a part of any gratitude journaling practice is that they can help you to access areas of your mind that you might not automatically go to.

For example, if I ask you “what are you grateful for?” you’re probably likely to automatically go to the same sort of areas or things in your life.

This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it often means that all of the other little things you’re also grateful for get ignored!

But if I ask you something very specific like “what book are you most grateful for?” suddenly you’re searching your brain and accessing grateful memories that you’ve possibly kept locked away.

I therefore think that gratitude journal prompts are an amazing way to find little bits of joy in your life which can enrich your gratitude practice significantly.

Not only this, but gratitude prompts honestly just help you when you feel a bit stumped.

Especially in the early days of your gratitude practice, finding things to be grateful for might not come easily to you, and gratitude journaling prompts can really just act as the little nudge you need to find those things.

This is particularly true if you experience certain mental illnesses or mood disorders that predispose you towards negative thinking. But for all of us, if we’re completely honest with ourselves, there are days when we just can’t seem to find the positive very easily.

Asking yourself to feel gratitude during a tough time can be really challenging, but gratitude journal prompts can be the missing piece that allow you to find things you’re grateful for much more easily.

Why 30 days of gratitude?

So now you know the benefits of using gratitude journal prompts to enhance your gratitude practice, but why 30 days of gratitude?

Well, the specific number isn’t really the most important thing here, but the idea of a 30 day gratitude journal challenge is that it encourages you to practice gratitude consistently using daily gratitude journal prompts.

It is the consistency and daily habit that allows amazing changes to occur – like actual rewiring of your brain – and will lead to more positive thinking patterns for you.

The idea behind a 30 day gratitude journal challenge is that it is a short enough time to keep you motivated to practice daily gratitude, but a long enough time that completing it will have a noticeable effect and you’ll feel like you’ve accomplished something.

And the idea is that you can repeat it too!

Neuroscientists actually think that rewiring your thought processes takes about 63 days, so really you do want to repeat your 30 days of gratitude if you want to see lasting results.

But with a different daily gratitude prompt every day you can still keep things fresh and find those little things to be grateful for.

And by the time the next 30 days comes around you’ll have got better at doing it!

30 days of gratitude journal prompts

Hopefully by now you’re understanding why gratitude journal prompts can be so powerful, and you’re feeling ready to take on your own 30 days of gratitude.

These 30 days of gratitude journal prompts can take you on a month-long journey of gratitude, and help you reach into different areas of your brain to find joy, even on your darker days.

Take one prompt each day and take some time to sit with it and see where it takes you. Then write as much or as little as you like in your journal to strengthen the process and make it stick!

You’re welcome to do the gratitude journal prompts in order or you can mix up the order if you like – but try to go through a different one each day and get through all 30 prompts in 30 days. 

Your 30 days of gratitude journal prompts

1. Name something in the room that you’re grateful for
2. Recall a favourite memory that you’re grateful for
3. Who helped you today?
4. Name a friend you’re grateful for and why
5. What is your proudest accomplishment?
6. What’s a possession that makes your life easier?
7. What about your body are you grateful for?
8. What is the best thing that happened today?
9. Name something in nature that you’re grateful for
10. What painful experience has helped you to grow?
11. What artist, author or musician are you grateful for?
12. What is your best skill?
13. What knowledge are you grateful for?
14. What is the best gift you’ve ever received?
15. What song are you most grateful for?
16. What’s something positive in your life that you didn’t have a year ago?
17. What smell are you most grateful for?
18. What/who made you smile today?
19. What book are you most grateful for?
20. What person in your past are you most grateful for?
21. What small things are you grateful for today?
22. What risk are you most grateful for having taken?
23. Name something or someone that makes you feel safe
24. What movie are you most grateful for?
25. What emotions are you grateful for?
26. What family member are you most grateful for?
27. What do you like about your job/school?
28. Name a place that makes you feel happy
29. Name a challenge that you’ve overcome
30. List all the people that have a positive affect on your life

And there you have it, those are your 30 days of gratitude journal prompts!

I challenge you to take on the 30 day gratitude journal challenge and see where it takes you. Or if you’re feeling brave, even challenge yourself to two rounds of it.

Remember, the more consistently you practice gratitude and the more you seek joy, the more easily it will come to you and you’ll begin to shift your entire way of thinking.

So show up even on your bad days and allow the gratitude journal prompts to guide you.

Want to explore other ways of gratitude journaling? Check out these gratitude journals:

Like this post? Check out some of these related articles:

• 20 Powerful Journal Prompts for Stress Relief
• 34 Journal Prompts for Depression Relief
• 80 Insightful Journal Prompts for Self Discovery and Awareness
• How to Start a Gratitude Journal (and Keep It!)
• A Guide to Moon Journaling for Sacred Self Care
• 51 Powerful Mindfulness Journal Prompts for Self-Awareness

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