Hmm. I think the standard narrative is that at first it’s difficult to think of journal entries, because you’re not in the habit of taking note when pleasant things occur, but over time you get into the habit of mentally tracking nice things throughout the day, which enables you to list things more easily. If you don’t feel joy about it, it doesn’t go in the gratitude journal; you might take some other action about the unpleasant feelings (journaling about them elsewhere, asking for a raise, etc.), but trying to make yourself feel grateful by brute force is unlikely to help.
If you notice partway through the day that you haven’t had anything enjoyable today, you might try adding some readily-accessible source of pleasure (tasty food, a book you like, recreational drugs if you’re into that sort of thing, etc.). However, it’s perfectly alright to leave a day empty, or to simply report that nothing you’re grateful for happened that day. If you have a great number of days with nothing nice in them, you likely have some problem for which a gratitude journal is not the right tool; broadly, such issues are best addressed with changes to your material circumstances, or (if psychological) medication (my personal preference) and/or therapy.
One reason to journal and/or use a planner in general is that this provides an opportunity to make use of pretty stationery items (e.g. washi tape and stickers), if you’re into that sort of thing; many such items can be had quite cheaply online, and they come in a wide variety of attractive designs.
If I understand you correctly the purpose isn’t the journal itself (using stickers and pretty stationary aside), but it affords inducing a kind of Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon: where one is primed to notice moments of joy in their day? But unlike the Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon or Frequency Illusion which is unintentional—the idea is to actively and intentionally habituate it.
In the same way, and I’m wildly speculating here, that a jeweler begins to “notice” qualities in gemstones over time? A jeweler, say looking for faults in diamonds, over time will just twist it in a certain way, and intuitively “know” what to look for.
Hmm. I think the standard narrative is that at first it’s difficult to think of journal entries, because you’re not in the habit of taking note when pleasant things occur, but over time you get into the habit of mentally tracking nice things throughout the day, which enables you to list things more easily. If you don’t feel joy about it, it doesn’t go in the gratitude journal; you might take some other action about the unpleasant feelings (journaling about them elsewhere, asking for a raise, etc.), but trying to make yourself feel grateful by brute force is unlikely to help.
If you notice partway through the day that you haven’t had anything enjoyable today, you might try adding some readily-accessible source of pleasure (tasty food, a book you like, recreational drugs if you’re into that sort of thing, etc.). However, it’s perfectly alright to leave a day empty, or to simply report that nothing you’re grateful for happened that day. If you have a great number of days with nothing nice in them, you likely have some problem for which a gratitude journal is not the right tool; broadly, such issues are best addressed with changes to your material circumstances, or (if psychological) medication (my personal preference) and/or therapy.
One reason to journal and/or use a planner in general is that this provides an opportunity to make use of pretty stationery items (e.g. washi tape and stickers), if you’re into that sort of thing; many such items can be had quite cheaply online, and they come in a wide variety of attractive designs.
If I understand you correctly the purpose isn’t the journal itself (using stickers and pretty stationary aside), but it affords inducing a kind of Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon: where one is primed to notice moments of joy in their day? But unlike the Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon or Frequency Illusion which is unintentional—the idea is to actively and intentionally habituate it.
In the same way, and I’m wildly speculating here, that a jeweler begins to “notice” qualities in gemstones over time? A jeweler, say looking for faults in diamonds, over time will just twist it in a certain way, and intuitively “know” what to look for.