How to Include Gratitude Journaling in a Personal Newsletter

As with many Americans, my extended family is highly diverse.  We have Democrats, Republicans, Greens, and even a few non-voters.  We have cousins and sisters who married spouses with different skin tones, different religions, and different backgrounds, and everyone can be quick to stumble upon a topic to argue over.  We are like most extended families—individuals who tolerate each other at the holidays.
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So, when we come together, there is the inevitable nincompoop who is driven to bring up politics or insist on his six-minute personally-composed speech before dinner, or fragile Uncle Dave who lacks the fortitude to get through an entire day without cracking open a flask.  In a nutshell, we drive each other nuts.  And the fallout is a holiday season of stress and anxiety rather than silver bells and cheer.  

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Write Your Way through the Holidays 
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As happens with so many people at this time of year, more stress is created than is relieved during the holiday season.  To prepare for family gatherings, people can be anxious for days or even weeks ahead of time, but the way that we approach the holidays can lessen our stress and anxiety if we use gratitude writing.  By changing our daily practices from being stressed to being actively engaged in stress-relieving writing activities, we can take control of the holidays and enjoy them again.
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One practice that is making some waves over the last few years is the personal newsletter, which is an online newsletter that can be shared with just your private group.  It is more private than blogging but gives people the opportunity to connect with friends and family from a distance, and it allows the writer to control the message.  Unlike family gatherings and social media that tend to explode with opinions, sharing a personal newsletter keeps writer and readers on one topic.  

Today, people are more overburdened than ever before. Political tensions, climate change, and economic instability create the perfect storm for a stressed-out society. If you aren’t yet journaling, get The Simple Guide to Journal Writing and get started.

Thank You Notes and Shout Outs 
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What could be included in a personal newsletter?  A brief summary of your accomplishments for the year is a great starter.  Highlight things like—a friend’s birthday party where you reconnected with an old buddy, a positive event at work where you were appreciated, and a hike you took in the hills that jump started a better workout plan.  Small, personal feats tend to come across well in a personal newsletter.
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Add in thank you notes to incorporate gratitude writing into your newsletter.  Thank mom for sending you another stack of kitchen towels.  Thank Aunt Mary for remembering your birthday every year, even though you are 36.  And thank your brother for harassing you into saving and instead of buying a new car.  It was his advice that built your savings account in the end. 

Did you know that when you communicate appreciation or acknowledgement to one person in a group, the rest tend to fall in line?  It is true.  Telling one person “thank you for sending me pumpkin seeds to start my garden” may land you with envelopes of seeds the following year.  It gives your other friends and family ideas of how to contribute to a positive atmosphere and places validation where it is earned. 

Similarly, in a shout out, you can recognize accomplishments of those around you.  For example, if you know that your friend Amy landed a good promotion at work, note it in your newsletter.  If your nephew got into college, your mom began volunteering at a local charity, your dad started exercising, or your cousin Margie finished her PhD, then note those deeds in a shout out.  The more that you highlight the positive, the better you do at controlling the message and stress level within your friend and family groups, the lower your stress level can be, and the better the holiday experience is for everyone around you.  

​Gratitude Tales 
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A gratitude tale is a more detailed version of the thank you note to include in a personal newsletter.  Whereas a thank you note or shout out may be a couple of sentences, a gratitude tale might take half a page or more.  Gratitude stories to include might be: a description of how your neighbor shared garden soil with you that allowed you to put in a row of blueberry bushes, another could be a stranger who stopped to help you change a flat tire on the side of the road, or a colleague who advised you to read a particular book that changed your career path. 
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Gratitude tales help not only you to get into the mindset of gratitude writing, but they allow your friends and family who receive them to see what is happening in your life from a positive angle.  Instead of letting your extended family, who may very well be as contentious as mine, fill in the blanks of your life with complaints give them positive stories to fill their minds.  Not only can we use gratitude writing to improve our own countenance during the holiday season to relieve stress, but we can share gratitude with others to bring them up.  

Creating the Personal Newsletter 
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How do you start penning your personal newsletter?  Easy.  Open up a word-processing document (Word, Google doc, Rich Text Format, etc.).  Give it a title.  Then add in an introduction (i.e., “2016 has been a sad year with the loss of my idols David Bowie and Alan Rickman, but I am determined to keep a positive mindset …”).  After your introduction, write up 3-5 thank you notes and shout outs (do more if you can).  After those, write at least one gratitude tale.  Insert a few pictures, add a cool background color, and turn it to a PDF.  Then sign it and send it. 
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Not only can you achieve a greater peacefulness and sense of calm during the holidays for yourself but you can share that unruffled composition with your friends and family, even if you are not excited to see them in person.  Sharing positive stories in a personal newsletter could be just the recipe your holiday season needs to relief stress all around.  

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