At the end of the day, your quality of life revolves around your mindset - how you think, how you act, and how you react.

On one end of the spectrum, you could be the richest person in the world and still be unhappy, despite owning all of the most desirable designer luxury goods in the world. In contrast, you could be just making ends meet and remain fairly happy with where you are in life when it comes to housing, family, and more.

An asshole could cut you off on the road, you flip them off out of anger, and you allow it to ruin your entire day. Or, you can take this situation with a grain of salt, acknowledge that they are a dickhead when they drive, and move on with your life.

Although it may be inevitable to control certain circumstances that happen in your life, there’s one thing that you do have total control over - your mindset.

Even when shit hits the fan, when things aren’t going your way, when you feel like the world is against you….

At the end of the day, with the right mindset and attitude, you can overcome ANYTHING.

No, this isn’t some flowery bullshit to help temporarily boost your ego - this introduction right here, in all honesty, is the truth and nothing but the truth.

When I was going through depression a few years back, it took me a huge amount of strength and courage to actively change my mindset - to lift myself mentally from the dark pits of despair and to climb up to the top to see the light again. From my personal experience, depression feels like I’ve hit rock bottom to the extreme point where I actually feel like my life would NEVER get better. However, as soon as I ditched the negatives and actually focused on the positives of my life, everything around me that was once muted and dark began to feel colorful and vibrant once again.

The same has to do with gratitude.

As soon as you take the time to count your blessings, you will realize just how lucky you are. You will learn how to easily drown out all of the noise, drama, and petty shit in life that you don’t have time to deal with. Ultimately, expressing gratitude will teach you how to focus on the bigger picture.

Today’s blog post is a bit different from the normality of my typical blog posts - and it’s all thanks to one gratitude journal I want to introduce to you all called The Five Minute Journal. Because of this journal, I’ve learned to actively express gratitude for everything and everybody in my life and to never take for granted what I have right in front of me.

Who here thinks about gratitude? We all do to a certain extent.

However, who actually takes the time these days to actually focus and write down our blessings for the day? Not that many of us, to be completely honest.

I get it, I get it - we have so much to do in our busy lives. Why take the time to write down what we’re grateful for when we have it all right in front of us, or why bother writing it down when we can say it out loud? Well, research shows that actively writing down and addressing your blessings consistently will lead to an increased level of happiness.

By being the happiest version of yourself, your mindset will gradually shift towards a more positive light and insignificant or petty things will eventually bother you less and less. That’s why these days when I encounter an unkind or inconsiderate asshole on social media or in real life, I brush him/her off quickly because I know that my positivity and valuable time is not worth stressing out or feeling drained about my interaction with a negative source.

With the Gratitude Journal, you only think about the happy things in life. You focus on the positives in addition to what you can improve in your life on the daily. None of that negativity, none of that drama, and none of that bullshit.

By addressing your blessings every single day, you will begin to transform into the best version of yourself, as you will actively become aware of who/what you are grateful for and why you are grateful for that person/thing in your life. After opening Page One of this journal, that mentality of “you against the world” will slowly shift into “you and how you perceive the world”.

Isn’t it crazy how one journal can make such a huge difference in perspective?

Honestly, there must be some magic sorcery or powers behind this gratitude journal because as soon as I finished reading the introduction and completed my first fill-in-the-blanks of Day One, I already felt a HUGE boost of energy and positivity throughout my day. I felt invincible. There was just something about writing in this journal that transformed my outlook on life, and it’s difficult to explain in words. My mood was instantly uplifted, and I felt that like an unstoppable Sim character with fully charged green bars in every life meter category possible. (Yes, sorry gamer girl nerd reference)

Because of just HOW instant this transformation felt, I knew that this was a journal worth sharing with all of my loved ones. Thus, I’ve collaborated with The Five Minute Journal to GIFT each close friend of mine (or at least the ones I KNEW would continue using this journal) their very own gratitude journal in hopes that they can experience the same uplifted energy that I felt from this one book.

After surprising a few of my friends with The Five Minute Journal in front of their doorstep, I had to check in with them weeks later to ask them how they enjoyed their very first gratitude journal! Down below, you’ll find an honest testimonials from a few of my friends. I told all of my friends to be completely honest with their review, and this is what they wanted to share with the world.

I think this journal is perfect for everyone including those who don’t really like to journal (like myself). There’s a lot of gratitude journals out there, but I’ve always had trouble sticking to a journal since it can be time consuming. This one is so simple and quick to fill out! Also, I love the quotes at the top and the beautiful cover. A short 5 minutes every day can bring you positivity and balance. I keep it by my bed so now it’s part of my morning and night routine.”
- Lenora C.

5 minute journal is awesome! I love that it helps me unwind at night, reflect on the good of the day, appreciate my accomplishments, and in the morning, helps me to set the intention to have gratitude, positivity, and an overall wonderful day.
- Wendy H., Videographer from Hsiao Productions (@hsiaoproductions)

The five minute journal has really helped me feel grateful for my everyday life routine. My day job is so demanding that I tend to forget all the good things that happens throughout my day. I used to focus so much energy and time on the bad stuff so with this journal, it has really forced me to think deeper and find the good things in all this mess you call life!
- Linh D., Blogger & Content Creator from @xcapewithlinh

The five minute journal is a great way for me to start my day. I noticed that when I write in it consistently, I think more positively and little things that normally would have bothered me, don’t anymore. I have a better outlook throughout the day and it’s a great reminder for me to reflect on things and people I’m most grateful for everyday.
- Marisa H., Blogger & Content Creator from @mariseeezy

Alright, well where do I even start? Let me give a little backstory on my exposure to The Five Minute Journal I had seen this on Mimi Ikonn from @mimiikonn on Instagram. I was always interested in checking it out, but never did, so I forgot about it. Fast Forward to sometime in 2018, I was watching Michelle’s Instastories when BAM! She was talking about The Five Minute Journal and her thoughts about it. I messaged Michelle privately asking more about it. On January of this year, I received a package in the mail from her and it was The Five Minute Journal, by far a very thoughtful gift. So what did I do when I received it you might ask. Well I started it! I have been doing The Five Minute Journal for a month and a few days. It has changed my perspective on things, in a sense that I wake up and instantly begin thinking of things I am grateful for, rather than thinking ‘oh here we go another morning.’ Without getting to into this, my family and I are going through a tough road and this small Journal has made all of difference. It has made me look at the silver lining in all negative situations, it is slowly transforming me into a more positive person. Like I said I have only been doing this journal for about a month and a few days, it has already impacted my life in such a wonderful form and I can’t wait to see what else is in store for me because of this journal. Thank you Michelle for sending me this wonderful gift, you have introduced me to such a wonderful change.
- Eva O., Blogger & Content Creator from @simplyevahxo

Beginning my day with the five minute journal has truly changed my life! I had always heard about the power of gratitude and affirmations, and implementing them into my daily routine has allowed me to stay positive no matter what.
- Maya R., Content Creator from @missmayaya

If there is one thing that I am eternally grateful for, it is the simple discovery that one of my life passions is to inspire others through my platforms to pursue their goals and chase their dreams. To write inspirational posts like these that resonate with my community. To leave a lasting impression in hearts of others. To make a positive difference in the lives of anybody reading this.

Last but not least, I wanted to give a special thanks to The Five Minute Journal for collaborating with me on this Happiness Project of mine and to my friends who have shared their honest thoughts about this gratitude journal with me. Not only am I grateful to have discovered The Five Minute Journal, but I am also blessed to have amazing friends as avid supporters of my blog who helped contribute their thoughts to make this a communal blog post that I hope will leave a positive message with you all.

The Five Minute Journal Review: How It's Positively Changed The Lives Of My Loved Ones & Myself

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