The Five Minute Journal Review: Intelligent Change’s Thorough Gratitude Journal

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When you are grateful, you align yourself with the universe’s creative force. And you admit you are a creative force.

In those moments of gratitude, you’ve stopped playing small. You’ve stopped pretending to be less than you are. You’re living up to your unlimited potential. And it feels great to do that.

One way you can express your gratitude is to keep a gratitude journal.

You can use “The Five Minute Journal: A Happier You in 5 Minutes a Day” by Intelligent Change. I’ve used it, and it’s a constant exercise in creativity.

The idea is to keep thinking of different things you’re grateful for. You can repeat yourself sometimes.

Consistently applied, when you daily list what you’re grateful for, you show how much you already have. And you make room for so much more, too.

Blinking and breathing are automatic. As you make gratitude a habit, it will also become automatic. However long it takes. You’ll train yourself to align with the universe’s creative force constantly. And oh, what a rich life you have.

Here’s my review of The Five Minute Journal, Intelligent Change’s thorough gratitude journal. Consider how much your life will benefit when you make it a daily habit to write down what you’re grateful for.

Journal Sections for Each Day

Intelligent Change has put much thought into what will make for the most effective gratitude journal possible. For each day in the journal, you’ll write down the date at the top of the page, and you’ll make your way through the following sections:

1. Inspiring Quotes;
2. Gratitude;
3. Prioritizing Your Day to Make It Great;
4. Daily Affirmation;
5. Three Amazing Things That Happened Today; and
6. End-of-Day Reflection to Grow and Improve.

Sections 1 – 4 are for first thing in the morning, and sections 5 – 6 are for before bed at night.

The Five Minute Journal is different than simply writing down 3 things you’re grateful for each morning. There’s a lot more to it than that. Yet, Intelligent Change has stated that you only need 5 minutes daily to work through all the sections on each page.

Inspiring Quotes

You’ve got inspiring quotes like these to look forward to each day in The Five Minute Journal:

“A thankful heart is not only the greatest virtue but the parent of all the other virtues.” – Cicero

“Excellence is the best deterrent to racism or sexism.” – Oprah Winfrey

“When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be.” – Lao Tzu

“If you don’t have time to do it right, what makes you think you’ll have time to do it over?” – Seth Godin

“Be willing to be a beginner every single morning.” – Meister Eckhart

“The secret of change is to focus all … your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new.” – Socrates

Reading the inspiring quotes helps ensure you’re in the right frame of mind for what comes next…

I Am Grateful for …

1. _____________________________________________________________
2. _____________________________________________________________
3. _____________________________________________________________

In this section, you write down 3 things you’re grateful for. As you do this, you’re replacing negative thoughts with positive thoughts. You might not notice the difference right away, but keep at it. Build the habit.

Whether a habit takes 21, 66, or 90 days to form doesn’t matter. Each Five Minute Journal lasts for 6 months of daily use. You have more than enough space in a single journal to create the habit of daily gratitude.

What Would Make Today Great?

1. _____________________________________________________________
2. _____________________________________________________________
3. _____________________________________________________________

Here, you look forward to what the day has to bring. You can plan and pick out 3 things you’ll do to move your life forward. This way, your journal can also be a daily planner.

Do you see how The Five Minute Journal can help you create a brand-new life for yourself?

Even if you don’t see how, you might notice its clever effectiveness in the following sections…

Daily Affirmations. I Am …

__________________________________________________________________

In this section, you write something positive about yourself in the present tense. “I am” statements are considered to be extremely powerful. With them, you get to see more of who you are.

If you’re stuck and don’t know what to say about yourself, here’s a positive “I am” statement you can use:

“I am whole, perfect, strong, powerful, loving, harmonious, and happy.”

The following 2 sections are the ones you fill in before you sleep at night.

3 Amazing Things That Happened Today …

1. _____________________________________________________________
2. _____________________________________________________________
3. _____________________________________________________________

Here, you get to celebrate how the day went. What victories did you achieve? What pleasant surprises showed up for you? What acts of kindness did you give and receive?

Write down 3 positive things that happened today.

You wrote down 3 things that you’re grateful for in the morning, and now you’re writing down 3 very recent things that you’re grateful for in the evening.

The Five Minute Journal is a twice-a-day gratitude journal. You’re grateful when you wake up, which helps set up your entire day positively. And you’re grateful before you sleep, which helps you have pleasant dreams.

How Could I Have Made Today Even Better?

__________________________________________________________________

And in this section, you note what you can do to improve. This isn’t a section for regret. It’s a section for planning how you can make tomorrow better. As each tomorrow becomes today, you’re constantly learning and growing.

You have unlimited potential, and each new day allows you to live up to more of it. You’ve got a powerful ally when you’ve got The Five Minute Journal as your companion on your journey of constant, never-ending improvement. And that’s the value you can carry for the rest of your life.

Conclusion

With The Five Minute Journal, you can quickly learn to be very grateful. You’re writing down twice a day what you’re grateful for. You’re planning 3 things to do each day that will give you more to be grateful for. You’re making a powerful “I am” statement daily about who you are. And you’re taking note of what you can do to improve.

Those are all powerful tools you can apply daily with The Five Minute Journal. Each journal will last for 6 months of daily use. If you want enough for 1 year, buy 2 journals for yourself.

The Five Minute Journal also makes an excellent gift for any time of the year.

Buy The Five Minute Journal and use it in your daily routine. And see how grateful you get to be.

“If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is “Thank You,” it will be enough.” – Meister Eckhart (Johannes Eckhart)

As a warm-up exercise for using The Five Minute Journal each day, share the following in the comments section:

• 3 things you’re grateful for;
• 3 things that would make today great;
• A positive “I am” statement about yourself;
• 3 amazing things that happened today; and
• How you could have made today even better.

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Until next time,

James Barnett