The Gratitude Challenge

It’s been a rough week. It seems like little and not-so-little things are falling apart all around me and none of it is within my control. No matter how hard I try to fix it, things just get worse. 

Have you ever been there? You’re halfway through your week and you’re already wishing for a do-over. (Or maybe you’re just wishing for the weekend so you can drown your sorrows in a pint of ice cream and an entire season of your favorite show on Netflix.)

So tonight, as I was sitting awake while everyone else in the house was sound asleep, I was looking for some small way to deal with the emotional toll this week is taking (that didn’t also include a massive hit to the scales in the morning) and I was reminded of my old habit of keeping a gratitude journal. 

Years ago, at the end of every day I would write down at least 3 things I was grateful for. It was a great habit because it kept me thinking all day long about what good things I could write about that night. 

My hectic schedule has kept me from keeping up with my gratitude journal, but as I was stressing over my week tonight I started wondering how simple acts of gratitude could change my perspective. 

With that in mind, I came up with The Gratitude Challenge. Here’s how it works:

Whatever is frustrating you, find 3 things you love or appreciate about that job/person/situation and write them down. 

So…

• If work is frustrating me, I write down 3 things about my job that I love. 
• If I’m experiencing conflict with my husband, I write down 3 things that I love or appreciate about him. 
• If the baby has been crying for hours and nothing makes her happy, I write down 3 times she made me smile or 3 things she does that are just too cute. 
• If I’m irritated with a kitchen sink full of dishes or a laundry room piled high with dirty clothes, I write down how grateful I am to have those clothes or the people who wear them or that I own a washer/dryer and don’t have to go to a laundromat. 

Make sense?

I’m really curious to see if/how this exercise will shape my attitude and thought I’d invite you to join me in The Gratitude Challenge. 

So who’s with me? Just leave a comment below and let me know. And maybe we can share some of our lists to encourage each other through the rough days.