Gratitude Journal for Pessimists: Train Yourself to Be More Optimistic in 5 Minutes Per Day

You've probably heard the word "gratitude" being used more lately, especially in the past five years or so. Meditation and positive psychology people swear that being grateful for what's in your life will make you happier. Law of Attraction people claim that gratitude for what you have will "attract even more of what you want." Sounds great, right? It totally does, until you sit down to make one of their "gratitude lists" or to do one of those "rampages of gratitude" they're always talking about, only to realize that this is not really how YOUR brain works, that you are more likely to find the negative in things, and that "looking on the bright side" has never been one of your finer qualities. Uh oh. Does that mean people who tend to be more cynical or negative in their thinking can't benefit from gratitude? Are we never going to be able to appreciate life? WHY weren't we born more naturally cheerful, "glass half full" thinkers? Yes and no. While you can't change the brain you were born with and the family you were born into, you can actually develop the habit of gratitude. You just have to start WAY smaller than the perky people that seem to be all around you. That's who/ what this journal is for. Instead of trying to go on a "rampage of gratitude" which will assuredly end in you feeling stupid and not wanting to do it again, just open this book, write down the date, and name five things you are grateful for-ANY five things, no matter how small. Say you're grateful that you have legs. Say you're grateful that your boss is being less of a jerk today than usual. Say: "It's nice that someone invented pizza/ ice cream/ tacos." Think of something that made you laugh the day before, something nice that someone did (or that you did), or something not terrible that you saw on social media (we know, it's a stretch). Baby steps, friends