This month I launched the Growth and Gratitude Journal: a tool to focus on growth and gratitude in just a few minutes a day. I created it partially because I was looking for a journal like this, and could not find one; but also people who purchased my book “Meaningful Conversations With Our Children” and loved using it with their kids, asked for something similar for their own personal or their older teen’s daily use, and a journal felt like a very user friendly format for this purpose.

Every day of this three month long journal starts with reflection on an inspiring quote from the Bahá’í writings, which provides strategies for personal and spiritual growth that can create a more coherent, meaningful, and fulfilling life. This is followed with a gratitude practice—a practice that psychology research has shown can increase happiness, improve health and well-being, strengthen your ability to deal with adversity, and even enhance your relationships. There is space for reflection; in which you can observe the changes in your life through systematically implementing what you are learning. Weekly and quarterly reflection and planning pages are provided to offer a longer term perspective on the growth achieved.

We do not have to wait for the beginning of a new year to make changes in our lives, each day has the promise of a new start, a fresh beginning full of possibilities. Growth does not have to be big, scary steps, in fact small, consistent ones may actually lead to greater change in the long run. To operate in a mode of learning requires that we get comfortable with uncertainty; with the idea that failure is a part of growth, as long as we strive to do our best and rely on God in the process; that our efforts should come from a place of intentional, thoughtful action, and followed up with reflection on the process and outcome, so that further growth can occur. 

The Growth and Gratitude Journal was created with the intent of supporting this kind of focus and systematic growth.

To learn more, see sample pages, and purchase, click here.

Also available—my book “Meaningful Conversations With Our Children”.