“Wear gratitude like a cloak and it will feed every corner of your life.” — Rumi

Rumi, a Persian poet from the 13th century, graced us with words of great light and beauty. In the quote above, he implies that gratitude allows you to see life through the lens of abundance and by practicing gratitude, its positive implications will spill over into other areas of your life.

Fast forward to the 21st century, and research has proven that gratitude is strongly and consistently associated with greater happiness and positive lasting effects on the brain.

It helps us feel more positive emotions, become more resilient in dealing with adversity, build stronger relationships with family and friends, and live in a healthier mental space.

In fact, Oprah Winfrey said, “opportunities, relationships, even money flowed my way when I learned to be grateful no matter what happened in my life.”

But being aware of the benefits of gratitude is one thing and actually putting gratitude into practice is another.

There are a lot of different methods out there to practice gratitude, but here’s the best one that has worked for me:

One line per day.

That’s it. One single line every day before I go to bed.

I ask myself the following question:

What am I grateful for today?

A few things come up, but there’s always one thing I’m truly grateful for, so I write it down.

This approach makes the process of practicing gratitude daily as easy as possible.

It’s the easiest way to consciously build a habit of gratitude and thus become a more grateful person in the process of doing so. Simply download and print out this sheet (it’s a free template I put together) and keep it next to your bed.

Every day before you go to sleep, open it and write down one thing you were grateful for that day.

A few words each day. How long does that take? 30 seconds?

30 seconds per day to consciously practice gratitude.

If you prefer to start your day with practicing gratitude feel free to do so.

What’s important is that you do it. Keep the journal next to you bed if you want to practice gratitude before you fall asleep. Keep it on your desk if you want to reflect first thing in the morning.

Here’s what Oprah has to say:

“You have to write them down. It’s very different from just saying ‘I’m grateful for today’. You have to physically write them down because there’s power in the words… In my 40s, I got wiser. I started using journals to express my gratitude — and watched my blessings multiply. What you focus on expands.”

What you focus on expands. Remember those words.

The nice thing about journaling is that it’s free, flexible and above all, personal.

And the beauty of the “one line per day” approach is that once the month is complete, you can look back on all the positive grateful thoughts you’ve had. You’ll notice that every single day of that month, you had something to be thankful for.

Isn’t that beautiful?

How Journaling 'One Line Per Day' Helps You Become More Grateful