100 Day Gratitude Challenge

What is this all about?  Why a gratitude challenge?

It is easy to feel grateful when everything is going well in your life.  What about when things are not going well?  When there are burdens, struggles, drama, it’s hard to feel grateful.  Do we wait until life gets better again or can we start where we are, in the midst of problems and challenges?

I learned that when our outside circumstances are not changing, it’s time to go inside. Change begins with me.

What is gratitude? According to my old beat up Collins Paperback English Dictionary, the definition is, “a feeling of thankfulness”. I looked up “thankful” and it read “appreciation”. I looked up “appreciation” and it read “to value highly”.

That is exactly what I found out when I began to practice and develop the ability to feel grateful; I began “to value highly” my life and the lives of those around me. It pains me to admit it, but life’s challenges frustrated and depressed me. Most days were a struggle until I learned about the gifts of gratitude.

The gifts of gratitude are; increased self-esteem, happiness, enthusiasm, peace, and joy. How would you like to reap the gifts of gratitude?

I have been posting my gratitude journey on my blog. Here is a list of some of the practices I have done;

• When I wake up, I take a few deep breaths and thank the air for filling my lungs (after all, where would we be without air).   I close my eyes, put my attention in my heart area and feel a sense of gratitude, which is a warm, joyful feeling to me.  I repeat to myself, “I feel grateful.”
• As I go about my day, I say to myself, “I am grateful.  I feel great.  I feel amazing.”  When I meet up with other people, I smile and thank them for helping me (no matter what).  Everyone is a gift.  Everyone has a gift.  Silently, I say to myself, “I am grateful for you.”   Then, I put my attention in my heart area and feel a sense of gratitude.  Breathe in gratitude.
• I look for opportunities to notice things I appreciate and people I appreciate.
• At the end of the day, I take a piece of paper and write down all the people, places and things that I am grateful for.  Sometimes I list the reason why or I list a quality that I truly appreciate in that person.
• Write a blog about my gratitude journey.
• Write thank you cards to family and friends to tell  what I appreciate about them.

Those are just a few ideas that I’ve experimented with.  The following are some links to studies and more ideas on gratitude practices.  Leave a comment or send an email to let me know if you found this useful and tell me about how your gratitude challenge is working for you.

Study: Gratitude Is An Antidepressant – this article also give tips on how to maximize gratitude in your life.

Practicing Gratitude Can Increase Happiness by 25% – this article delves deeper into the research on gratitude.

This fr-ee online encyclopedia has much to say about gratitude.

Please click on the links below to read some of my blog posts on my gratitude journey. You can find all of the posts filed under the category “Gratitude”.

The Gift of Gratitude: Day 100 – The End
The Gift of Gratitude: Day 66 – It’s a Wonderful Gypsy Life
The Gift of Gratitude: Gratitude Challenge Day 40
The Gift of Gratitude: Day 30
The Gift of Gratitude: Day 25
The Gift of Gratitude: Day 17
The Gift of Gratitude: Day 16
The Gift of Gratitude

In the End, Only Love Matters

Disclaimer: Results equal the amount of perseverance used. The opinions expressed are strictly those of the author of this blog post and are for information purposes only.