By Gretchen A. Lewis, MA, NCC, LCPC
Northwestern 30-Day Gratitude Challenge!
We invite you to join us for our first annual 30-Day Gratitude Challenge this November. The goal of this challenge is to be a little more present and aware, to complain less, and to be a little more grateful each day. The benefits of gratitude practices are often surprisingly great, and the time investment is usually minimal. This mindful practice usually only takes a few minutes out of your day.
1. Set a daily calendar alert and a timer. Research states, for maximum effectiveness, when starting a new habit, it’s beneficial to set a calendar alert at the same time every day for the next month. Each day when you start your practice, it’s important to set a timer for five minutes. Do your best to block out distractions and put your Do Not Disturb on. Be open to whatever feelings and emotions come up. Think of this time as yours, as a gift to honor yourself, reflect, and be present. This is the time that you are investing in yourself to increase your well-being.
If you want to learn more about the current research on why forming intentional, beneficial habits matters, check out the book Atomic Habits by James Clear.
2. Get comfortable.
Find a quiet place to relax alone. Ideally, you want to choose the same space to help prime your brain to relax and be in the zone for this experience.
3. Write down three things that you are grateful for at the start or end of your day.
It’s important to save your reflections so you can refer back to them. Many people put them in a journal or on a small piece of paper that they can fold up each day and place in a jar to track their progress. Feel free to make this personal and be creative with colored pens or go digital using a Canva design, or even make a spreadsheet. Whatever way you choose to record your practice, it needs to be fun and easy so that you can look forward to this time.
4. Create a comforting ritual around this time.
It’s about creating an experience and caring for yourself. Think about adding in something simple that brings you positive feelings of peace or comfort. Ideas include a relaxing or uplifting playlist, a warm drink of tea or coffee, a comfortable blanket, wear a cozy robe, pajamas or sweatshirt, a favorite pair of socks or slippers, or other items of clothing that makes you feel good.
5. Consciously choose to let go of negativity.
If it’s hard to think of something to be grateful for, that may be a market that we may need to clear out the negative. Sometimes we need to release built-up stressors, complaints, or worries, that are weighing us down in order to make room for something positive. To do this, use a brain dump activity to purge some of the negative thoughts you have been carrying with you. This step can greatly benefit your personal relationships because you may notice you aren’t as frustrated or short with people. You may see that your conversations and interactions with others improve because you don’t need to complain as often or lean on others to process what’s stressing you. Basically, by doing this, we can become more aware and spot our daily and weekly thought patterns more clearly. This allows us to not only make more room for the good but also to become stronger and more resilient, and we learn we have the power to help ourselves come out of a challenging situation.
6. Remember that consistency is important in order to see results.
If it’s hard to stay dedicated to your practice and make a shift in the time of day or way you record it, the notes or voice recording apps on your phone can work well in a pinch. To stick with your practice on the busiest of days, refocus on your goal and the end result that you are seeking. How do you want to feel at the end of the month? Wouldn’t it be great actually to keep a promise to yourself and to have some amount of time each day that is prioritized just for you? To help you get started and continue to stay motivated, here are some common questions regarding this exercise:
· What are the benefits of increasing gratitude?
After completing multiple variations of this exercise personally and professionally with many clients and students over the years, I’ve found this format of this exercise to be one of the most effective ways of breaking through the stress of the daily grind and fighting through the times when we feel stuck, unmotivated, uncertain about next steps or are feeling down in the dumps. It’s a short activity that everyone can do, it’s not very challenging or time-consuming. Over the years, clients and students have reported that daily dedication to this activity has built trust, accountability, accomplishment, and increased faith in themselves. One client said that it helped him to prioritize himself and his needs and be clearer about his boundaries more often. When we reflect and process our feelings more, it becomes clearer over time what people or experiences build us up and what doesn’t.
· What should I expect at the end of 30 days?
You may find that you are more open-minded and that your thoughts are more intentional than being full of to-do lists, worries, constant expectations, or only focusing on the outcome. If you do this intentional gratitude practice every day for 30 days, you are likely to see your perspective, focus, and your mood shift to become more aware and positive. Through exercises like this, we often become better at prioritizing and scheduling in general. We are often happier when we are taking better care of ourselves. When we have a dedicated, mindful practice like this,
we can feel more intentional, more on purpose. When we commit to ourselves and set a regular time to reflect and be present, we start to see things from a brighter or bigger perspective. At the completion of this exercise, many clients said that one of the most unexpected benefits was that they felt like they ended up feeling that they had more time in the day.
· Why start a gratitude practice?
Looking back on fond memories can help increase our overall happiness and can allow us to look for and focus on the good when it arises. This helps combat the natural tendency of our brain to focus on the negative stressors, worries, or unchecked items on our to-do lists. And this practice allows us to purposefully pay attention and focus on what is working, what we do have to appreciate. If we aren’t making a consistent, regular effort to think about what we actually do want in our lives, then we are more than likely going to get sidetracked into pondering what we don’t want, and we know that doesn’t feel good. Remember that what we focus on expands and continues to show up in our awareness.
Final Thoughts:
In closing, I would like to remind you that the goal of this practice is simply to choose different things to reflect on and express thanks for each day. There are many things that we don’t consciously pay attention to every day that are important and that are working in our favor. Your list can include people, places, goals or achievements, songs, nature, and run the gamut of big and small moments that matter to you. To support you in your practice, you will find a list of ideas below to help you continue your practice and spark new ideas and reflections.
As always, please feel free to send us your feedback on this exercise or even attach images of what you create. We love to hear from you!
Brain dump link: https://psychcentral.com/health/using-brain-dumping-to-manage-anxiety-and-over-thinking
Gratitude Ideas:
263 Things to Be Grateful For in 2022: The Ultimate Gratitude List, healthyhappyimpactful.com
Book Atomic Habits:
Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones, amazon.com
Gretchen is an Affiliate Professor and Supervisor with Counseling@Northwestern, The Family Institute at Northwestern University. She is the Founder of Namaste Wellness Center, a private practice that is located in the suburbs of Chicago. NWC focuses on healthcare workers, well-being, work-life balance, and sports performance.
