What happens when we write a list of things we're ungrateful for?

Last week I gave my first talk on Gratitude Journaling as part of The Pause Collective, a wellbeing series organised by Sarah Brewster and Silvana Greenfield. During the session, I asked people to write down three things they felt grateful for that day - partly to show how accessible the practice is, and partly to help them notice how the simple act of writing can shift how we feel.

After we did that first exercise, I invited everyone to write down three things they felt “ungrateful” for - essentially, three things that had annoyed or frustrated them. The reflections that followed were fascinating. Personally, I find this exercise pretty difficult; I’m naturally a “glass half full” person, so focusing on the more negative aspects of my day tends to make me feel unhappy. But others in the group shared that writing these things down actually helped them park or de-prioritise them, which was a perspective I hadn’t considered. I learnt something new from those people that day.

I’m not sure that writing down the things that make me uncomfortable will become part of my own journaling routine, but I can absolutely see how it could help others. It was a great reminder that there are many ways to approach journaling, and different methods will resonate with different people. It’s worth experimenting to see what works best for you.

Happy writing! ✨

Image by katemangostar on Freepik