As you’re making New Year’s resolutions, here’s one that should be easy to keep – a gratitude jar.
There really aren’t many rules to this, but there is something good to come out of it. Besides expressing gratitude for things, it’s a way to develop the habit of being mindful and grateful by focusing on the good things in life that we’d otherwise take for granted.
Also, it’s good for your mental health. It’s easy to feel like you’re never wealthy enough, thin enough, successful enough. It’s also easy to compare what we have to what everyone else has or seems to have. That can be emotionally draining and can make one feel like they’re not good enough.
Writing down what makes us happy or grateful forces us to slow down and reflect on the things that make us feel good. It also gives us perspective when comparing our imagined deficits to another person’s surpluses.
So, what is a gratitude jar?
It’s similar to a gratitude journal, but in this case, it’s a jar that you fill with reminders of what you’re grateful for.
Here’s how to make and use it:
- Start with a jar of any kind (or a box or any other kind of receptacle)
- Anything goes for decoration if you want to decorate. If not, no worries.
- Make the slips. Cut out blank squares of paper on which to write. You can use construction paper, cardstock, index cards, wrapping paper, and even pages from a notebook. Anything goes for this too. All that matters is that it’s big enough to write on and fit in the jar.
- If you’re doing it as a family, one jar could be for everyone, or everyone can have their own jar. Again, no rules.
- Write daily, weekly, or whenever something happens you want to remember.
What exactly to write?
Anything. Anything at all. Anything that impacts your life. Got a raise? Write it down. Your child got a good grade on a difficult test? Write that down too. And don’t forget to write down the date of whatever you write. You may want to specifically remember that on January 11 you received a text from a friend that made you smile when you were down.
Ideas and Writing Prompts
If you need a little help in figuring out what to write, here are some prompts:
- Surprises
- Funny or cute moments from family, friends, fur babies, or even strangers
- People or anything that made a positive impact on your life
- Activities you’re doing that make you happy
- Books, TV shows, movies, games, extracurricular things, etc.
- Social media posts that make you laugh, rejoice, or maybe even cry
- New experiences
- Things you’ve recently learned
- Accomplished goals
- Daily blessings
- Things you’ve purchased, donated, or gifted
- Good things that happen to others in your life
- Places you’ve traveled to (even if in your local area)
- New restaurants or stores you’ve been to
- A new coffee flavor you tried or a new dish you’ve tried
- Any creative outlet
- Anything inspirational
- Your feelings about anything
- Seasonal things (weather, holidays, etc.)
- Things you’ve moved on from or let go of in your life
- New habits you’ve started
- Things you’re looking forward to
- Old memories that affect you deeply and remain with you
- Quotes or ideas that inspire you and why
- Just simple things – a beautiful sunrise or sunset (we’ve had some AMAZING ones here lately in south Mississippi), the juicy blackberries you picked yourself, an encouraging word from a friend
- ANYTHING!
The types of things you can jot down are limitless, so just go at it with gusto as there are no rules.
Finally, on New Year’s Eve of next year, open up the jar and read back over all the great things that happened in 2024. Have fun!
