Have you ever kept a happy journal? It's not quite an art journal and not a regular writing journal. It's kind of like a gratitude journal but with a twist. Mine has done wonders for my life.

How a Sticker-Covered Book Makes Me Happy

Who knew a sticker-covered book would start me on this journey?

I was digging through our flat files one afternoon when I came across a small booklet. The sight of it immediately brought a smile to my face. It was completely covered with stickers from fruit I had eaten.

I love keeping a happy journal for many reasons. The main one is it changed my life.

Opening the pages, I entered into a world I had forgotten. Tiny sketches of my life in Los Angeles filled the pages. At the time, I had been planning a trip to visit my family for Christmas. This tiny book chronicled my excitement as the day drew near.

One thing I noticed in that book was the joy. I couldn’t help but smile as I flipped through the pages. How had I forgotten these moments?

It had been over ten years since I finished that book. Was that why I had forgotten?

A to-do list from my happy journal. Just a couple of days before I left to go home for Christmas many years ago. Such wonderful memories. :)

I began to realize the somber truth. I had no problem remembering the negative experiences in my life. I could remember with clarity the mean girl in fourth grade but struggled to remember the good from 24 hours ago.

Studies have proven we tend to hold onto the negative and forget the good, but what kind of life is that?

We all know life has its ups and downs. There are going to be awesome moments right along with the bad times.

When we allow our natural bent towards negativity to hold the reins in our lives, it can be kind of depressing. We feel like failures. And, because we feel so cruddy, we can continue that cycle by stoking the negativity flames.

But when you start recording the happy things in your life, your life begins to change for the good.

As I fingered through that small journal, I began to wonder. I needed to get back into this daily habit.

What I drew in my happy journal during the solar eclipse in August 2017.

I had stumbled upon this method years ago, in a most unlikely place. If I could find the joy in that situation—and there had been joy!—I could find the joy in the daily moments in my life.

Now, I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not typically a happy-go-lucky person.

I share this because I can say keeping a happy journal has helped me. It has shown me how beautiful my life is, that it isn’t a tangle of decisions and self-doubt and trying to figure out who I am.

There are joyful moments in each day, if I take a minute to notice them.

For years I looked for a solution to be more present in the moment, instead of forever wishing for the next big thing. I wanted to enjoy where I was rather than straining ahead to the prize that felt like it would never come.

My happy journal is the answer to that problem . . .

(This is an excerpt from my book, Happy Journal, Happy Life. Get it on Amazon by clicking here!)

Get the Happy Journal Happy Life paperback book


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I love it when you pin and share tutorials and articles that resonate with you. However, please remember that everything on this blog: articles, photos, drawings, and artwork are created by Jennie Moraitis and are under copyright. Please do not remove watermarks, crop, or edit any of my images or artwork without first receiving written permission from me. You may use one photo to share but please link to the original post on my site. The printables I offer are for personal use only. Please do not email the pdfs to others. Feel free to share the original post link for the printable with your friends and family so they can come over and download one of their own! Thanks so much for stopping by!