30 Day Gratitude Challenge

The Oxford Dictionary says : Gratitude the quality of being thankful readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness.

How often today have you been grateful? If asked we would all admit to being kind or grateful in our own way, but how often do we actually take the time to stop and consider how grateful we actually are ? Our lives are so busy, we are always rushing from one moment to the next rarely stopping to be grateful for the air in our lungs much less the beauty that surrounds us.

We are more likely to point out to someone else that they should be grateful for. What they have than to notice all of the pleasures, experiences and moments that we ourselves should be grateful for.

It is well documented that gratitude aids our health and wellbeing, gratitude is a tool that can help our mood and emotions and our general mental health. Gratitude costs nothing yet so often we neglect it, we pass it by simply because we do not take time to reflect on our day, week, month or year. When was the last time you truly stopped to share gratitude; to only think about all that you have to be grateful for?

The month of March is my birth month. What better time to stop and take time for gratitude. This is my March challenge, I hope you will join me as we walk into the next 30 days with a grateful heart, exploring how we can be grateful, acknowledging the world and those around us, taking time to show kindness and writing a little in our journals to keep us accountable.

Gratitude turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos into order, confusion into clarity….it makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow. - Melody Beattie.

How can we practice gratitude ?

• A Gratitude Journal

Gratitude Journals can be a wonderful place to store your thoughts and acts of gratitude. Don’t be afraid of the word journal. A simple notebook and your favourite pen are sufficient. It is not necessary to write chapter and verse unless you love to write. A simple list of 3-5 things that you are grateful for will be great to get started.

As you develop your habit, perhaps you will begin to add to your list. The more you find to be grateful for the longer your list will become. Strangely enough once we begin the habit of documenting gratitude the more things we find to be grateful for. This should be a fun exercise don’t let it become a chore or you will not want to continue.

• Write a letter

How many people in your life have inspired you ? How many people in your life do you love but never get around to telling them? How many people in your life passed on before you could tell them how grateful you are that they influenced you? Writting a letter of gratitude to them even if you never get to share it with them is a great way to unburden your heart. Sharing your emotions and feelings with your journal can be very therapeutic. Perhaps you are grateful to a teacher for changing your life, a parent for giving you strength or even a friend that you have lost touch with. Sometimes the simplest acts of gratitude free us from our own overactive mind.

• Meditation

Meditation can take us to parts of our minds that we didn’t even realise possible. Guided meditations for love and kindness can walk us through a pathway to gratitude. Opening our minds and simply taking time to think and visualise all things that we can be grateful for is a great way to be mindful and grateful. We can take this time to be grateful for a particular event in our day that we are grateful for.

• Focus

Taking time not only to focus on how we show gratitude for what we have, but also on what we have received from others. It is important that we think about why others have given us gifts, what thought process those who love us have experienced and how we can be grateful for that. Focussing on how our attitude and character affects those around us, gratitude also shows us how our people react to us; it is through our kindness to them that they too become kind and caring towards us.

Gratitude without a doubt is a worthwhile habit to nurture and practice. It is not without challenge, sometimes our busy lives put obstacles in our way that prevent us from acknowledging our gratitude, it is our challenge this month to be present, to stay focused and to be grateful every day.

WE OFTEN TAKE FOR GRANTED THE VERY THINGS THAT MOST DESERVE OUR GRATITUDE - Cynthia Ozick