I Designed An Anti-Gratitude Journal To Celebrate Curmudgeons

After a full year of Coronavirus trapping us at home and taking away all the fun things we used to enjoy doing, we’ve all been infected with a collective malaise that needs an outlet. If you believe the cookie-cutter wellness advice proliferating online, we’re supposed to be practicing gratitude. I’ve tried it and have a little graveyard of failed gratitude journals to show for it.

It turns out gratitude journals really aren’t for everyone. According to reporting from a 2016 NPR article on gratitude, “people who score higher on measures of autonomy experience less overall gratitude and value it less, according to experiments conducted by Anthony Ahrens, an associate professor of psychology at American University, and his colleagues. Autonomous folks who really value independence might feel that gratitude undermines that independence, says Ahrens.”

I know when I’m feeling miserable the last thing I want to do is take time to appreciate having a pulse. What I really want is to complain, and I designed this journal to help other people who feel the same way. Instead of imploring you to just be thankful and turn that frown upside down, this journal invites you to vent. Complete with 52 writing prompts and 52 de-motivational quotes, our new grievance journal celebrates the inner curmudgeon and gives you space to rant each week about all the ways you’ve been wronged in life. Whether it’s your co-workers or current events that are driving you crazy, this journal wants you to let it all out, with 214 pages for writing, doodling, and generally airing your grievances.

Sure, Frank Costanza celebrates Festivus once a year, but with this handy journal, you can celebrate every day. Some might say “no one likes a Debbie Downer” but as far as I’m concerned, no one likes people who use that tired invalidating cliche. All of your feelings are valid, including the gloomier ones, and this journal is designed to help you express them.

More info: boredwalktshirts.com

I Designed An Anti-Gratitude Journal To Celebrate Curmudgeons