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199. Strategic Gratitude Journaling for Thanksgiving | Journal With Me
Episode 19927th November 2025 • Journal Entries • Samantha Hawley | Inspired by Brene Brown, Glennon Doyle, Marie Forleo, Hillary Kerr, Mel Robbins
00:00:00 00:15:28

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If you've ever written "I'm grateful for my family" in a journal and then felt... nothing... you're not alone.

Most gratitude journaling feels empty because we're listing things instead of tapping into feelings. And here's what I've learned: the goals you're chasing? They're always attached to an emotion you're craving. Maybe it's peace. Or freedom. Or feeling capable again. That's what we're digging into today.

I'm walking you through four prompts that help you identify the feeling beneath what you want — and then find ways to feel it right now. Not later. Not when everything's perfect. Today.

Strategic Journal Prompts:

  1. What are you working towards right now — and what's the feeling you're actually chasing beneath it?
  2. When was the last time you felt that emotion, even for five minutes? Get specific.
  3. What elements from that moment are already in your life right now but you've been overlooking?
  4. How can you feel that desired emotion today, in small ways?

You'll stop waiting to arrive and start feeling it now. That's the shift.

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