Today, I was skimming through my RSS feeds and came across a post from ZenHabits.com. It was entitled Three Truths to Help Create a Life of Gratitude. It was only three truths so how long could it be? I decided to read on.
In his post, Chris Guillebeau of The Art of Nonconformity (guest post), talks about ways we can create a live of gratitude, which in turn, creates a full life of balance.
I remember years ago I liked the idea of living a life of gratitude and I went out and bought a gratitude journal. In the journal I would write down at least five things I was grateful for. The idea was that if I begin to see beyond the annoyances of the day, and see the things that really mattered, my attitude and perspective would change.
Every night I would write down five things God placed in my life that I was grateful for. If there was an accident causing a back up, I was grateful that I was not the person involved in the accident. I was grateful for my health, my family, my growing relationship with God. I wrote them all down. It was tough on the days when you just wanted to shut out the world, but it was also on those days where finding gratitude helped put things in perspective.
At the end of the post, a challenge was issued.
The Zen Habits Gratefulness Challenge
Fellow readers of Zen Habits, I’d like to leave you with a challenge today. This is not a theoretical challenge–it’s designed to be quite practical.
Over the next 30 days, I would like to challenge you to create your own life of gratitude in a way that is meaningful to you, and to begin practicing acts of gratefulness more than you have ever done before.
I’ll be doing it along with you, and so will a lot of other readers. It’s always good to be specific, so here are some ideas… but don’t let these limit you.
- Spend three minutes every morning writing down a few things you are grateful for that day
- Devote a full morning or afternoon to composing a more detailed gratefulness list. (One tip: think both about what you are grateful for and also how you can show that gratitude)
- Make it a habit to encourage at least one person every day
- Review your finances to make sure they are in order and aligned with your values
- Plan something fun, like a trip to somewhere you’ve never been
- For one day (or more), say something positive to every person you meet
Lastly, every good challenge has a part two. Are you ready for the part two of this challenge? Here it is:
The second part of the Zen Habits Gratefulness Challenge is for you to pass on the challenge to others.
I am going to take the challenge and this is me passing this challenge on to you.
I invite you to read the entire gratitude article at ZenHabits.com to see how Chris is meeting, understanding and learning from his own gratitude challenge.
So, what about you? What are you grateful for? Share your thoughts and gratitude with me in the comments section below.
