Do you ever express negative things while writing down what you are grateful for?

Sometimes I say how I'm grateful for painful times or difficult situations in my life, because they led me to good things, but I always write the things I'm grateful for with a positive note, because I believe that being grateful is a great way to focus more on the positive than in the bad, and then being less frustrated about life.

I sometimes write “should” statements, but I minimize and continue to keep my gratitude entries positive and encouraging.

Absolutley! Denying what is wrong doesn't make everything good. Sometimes the acknowledgement of the bad in your life gives you perspective on the good. Example: I have fibromyalgia, and hurt all the time. But…my husband is wonderful and helps me out so much. Without the bad, I may not see the good.

No. I say that because the point of practicing gratitude is to find what’s good about areas of your life and celebrate them no matter how small. You always want to celebrate your victories, your not sliding your opportunities for improvement to the back burner but how often do we as human beings give ourselves the permission to celebrate what’s good in our lives. I wouldn’t recommend putting negative things down in your gratitude journal. You can make a mental note of things you want to work on within self and around you but I would encourage that you continue to only write down things your grateful for and by doing so you start making celebrating yourself a lifestyle and not a habit. You can celebrate you and still work on your areas of opportunities.

I don’t. I may have the generic answer for what I’m grateful for, but the longer I think on it the more detailed my answers become. From the smallest gratitude to the most obvious, I always try to stay positive with it and not allow negativity harsh if my vibe.

Oh gosh yes. When I catch myself doing it, I stop and go back to seeking gratitude. It can be helpful if I try to find something to be grateful about in the negative situation I was writing about. I can think about how I can change my attitude or behavior so I'm not so affected by some circumstances.

In a way, for example I have suffered from chronic pain and it's opened my eyes to many things I took for granted before. So now, I feel gratitude for all the parts of my body that are still functioning and pain free. I feel grateful for being able to walk even if it causes me pain. I'm grateful I can breathe and speak and hear and see and taste. Without gratitude, it's easy to sink in a useless state of self pity. You don't know what you've got till it's gone, and as long as you're alive, there is always more to lose. This "negative" experience combined with gratitude has therefore allowed me to appreciate what I have and take better care of it.

I don't often express negative things, however I do sometime reflect on things that I could be doing better or improve upon. As being grateful for what others are doing for you can bring up the things you yourself aren't necessarily doing for others.