The Gratitude Challenge!

Welcome to the "Gratitude Challenge" from "Live YOUR Life" Blog!  Gratitude is one of the most important things you can practice on a daily basis to live a more positive and fulfilling life.

"Saying thank you is more than good manners.  It is good spirituality."  ~Alfred Painter

We all learned the magic words as a child to say "Thank You" and we know that it is good manners to say them after someone does something kind for you, helps you, or gives you something.  However the act of saying thanks and being grateful can unlock much more in our lives and open our eyes and minds up to the world that is around us.  You will be amazed at how your view of life changes once you truly put gratitude into practice and really mean it.  There is a reason "Thank You" has been dubbed the magic words; because they are.

The "Gratitude Challenge" will start December 1st and run for 12 days.  Sort of a 12 days of Christmas, if you will.  Each day there will be a small activity for you to try out to help you realize the things that you should be grateful for around you or perhaps just help to remind you of things you may have overlooked.  I urge you to follow along.  It is only 12 days and the activities will not be anything difficult or lengthy.

The activities will be posted on our Facebook Page, so please make sure that you have "Liked" the page so that you will receive the updates.   I would also be so grateful if you would share and pass this around on your own Facebook page as well as share the activities so that the attitude of gratitude will spread this season.  I will continue to edit this post to keep a tally of the activities so you can check back if you missed one, but the actual descriptions will only be posted on the Facebook page.  We are at 38 Likes now and I know there are more than 38 people that read this blog, so please make sure you click the "LIKE" button on the right hand side of this page to get updates for the "Gratitude Challenge" and further posts, quotes, and inspiration.  And PLEASE post your comments under each post with your thoughts and how you did for the day's challenge.

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The Gratitude Challenge 

Day 1 - Thank 3 people who make your life easier on a daily basis.

Day 2 - Thank 1 person who helped you through a dark/rough time in your life.

Day 3 - List 5 things, not people, that you are grateful for in your daily life.

Day 4 - Say "Thank You" to someone you have not spoken to in a while, but still appreciate.

Day 5 - Tell a difficult coworker that you appreciate them and compliment them.

Day 6 - Do a favor for someone today, just because you are grateful for them.

Day 7 - Think of a negative situation in your life and list 10 things you are grateful for because of it.

Day 8 - Throughout your day, mentally or out loud, say thank you to the objects you use that make your life a little easier.

Day 9 - Tell 9 people that you appreciate them today. Simple as that!

Day 10 - When you pay a bill or write a check, write "Thank You for ___"  Fill in the blank with whatever service the company or person provided you.

Day 11 - Write an old fashioned thank you letter or even email to someone.  Make it more than just a quick thank you.

Day 12 - Make a post on Facebook, or whatever social media outlet you prefer, saying what you are currently grateful for in your life.

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Being Grateful

This time of year is always a great time to reflect on what you are thankful for in your life.  The power of gratitude is one of the most important things you can use in your life.  Gratitude is the magic that can change the way your life plays out in front of you and how you feel.  As most things that are talked about in this blog, the law of attraction plays a huge part in gratitude.  As Oprah's quote above states, you need to concentrate on what you have and not the lack of what you do not have.

By focusing on the lack in your life you are basically telling the universe that you want more lack.  You are putting all of your energy into worrying and complaining about what you do not have, therefore the universe has to present that.  Think about how you feel when you are concentrating on what is lacking in your life.  Do you feel good?  No.  Feelings are your body's way of telling you if you are on a positive or negative vibration.  Why would you want to do something that does not make you feel good?

Each new day is something to be thankful for.  You are alive!  You are here!  Start each day and simply say "Thank You".  Notice all the things around you.  The items in your house, the warm running water of your shower, your cup of coffee on the way to work, the air in your lungs and your eyes that show you the world around you, the traffic light that stayed green, the fellow commuter that let you in their lane, etc.  Do not simply focus on the major things that you should be grateful for, but rather everything!  Once you start to really focus and be thankful for all things in your life, more abundance and beauty will show up.  I promise you that if you really become aware of what is in your life, you will become immensely happy and have continually good days.  Like attracts like, as the law of attraction states.  Abundance, happiness, thankfulness, and positivity will attract all of those things back to you!

"You say grace before meals.  All right.  But I say grace before the concert and the opera, and grace before the play and pantomime, and grace before I open a book, and grace before sketching, painting, swimming, fencing, boxing, walking, playing, dancing and grace before I dip the pen in the ink."  ~G.K. Chesterton

Gratitude is the key that will open your life up to what it truly is and can be.  The power of 'thank you' is more than you may realize.  This doesn't mean just saying it to other people, but to everything in the world around you, even yourself.  Even in tough times there are things to be thankful for.  You are still here and made it through those times.  So be thankful for the "bridge" that carried you to the other side.  Make it a challenge to yourself to look for things throughout your day that you should be grateful for.  Saying thank you is not just a matter of manners, it is a matter of a true appreciation of life.

Stay tuned for the "Live YOUR Life" blog's Gratitude Challenge...get ready to say 'THANK YOU' to the world!

Happy

"The constitution only guarantees the American people the right to pursue happiness.  You have to catch it for yourself" 

- Benjamin Franklin

The feeling of happy is something that we all enjoy and want to feel more of.  However, what does it mean to be happy?  It is the same for everyone?  What makes you happy?  There really is no right or wrong answer.  Each of us has our own people, situations, and things that make us feel happy.  Happy can be defined as pleasure, joy, contentment, achievement, fortune, or being lucky. 

Many spend their life trying to find happiness which is a waste of your time here on earth.  You need to stop and be grateful for what you have in this moment.  And realize that even the smallest things in life bring joy.  The sun shining on your face, your dog sitting at your feet while you read, the calming sound of the rain on the windows, the color and smell of the flowers, and the smile from a stranger.  All those things are worth taking a second to notice and realize that you can be happy now with what you have...not when and if something happens.  Happiness is something you feel and discover from within yourself, not something you seek from others because you feel you lack it and only they can fill that void.  Likewise you cannot seek it from material things.  You have heard the phrase, "money doesn't buy happiness", well it is true.  You have to be happy with what you have now and not with what you could have.  If you are constantly waiting to be happy then you are missing out on your life now.

Happy may mean something completely different to you and I.  In the documentary "Happy", the filmmakers travel the globe to see what happy means to different people and cultures.  A village that some may consider poverty stricken actually showed higher levels of joy and contentment with life than the thriving and more financially fortunate lives of people in a first world country.  They appreciated their daily life, the relationships among each other, and the time they spent together and with the world around them.  That is not to say that those of us in a more financially fortunate culture are not happy.  But it just continues to prove the point that happiness comes from within and gratitude from what you have, not what you don't.  The film is available to view on Netflix and purchase from www.thehappymovie.com.  It is worth a watch.

Take a moment today to list 5 things that you are happy about now.  Continue this practice every day, if you wish, and you will see how much in your life you truly have to be happy for.  Smile and enjoy life and remember that happy is a state of being that only you can control and bring to yourself.  Don't worry, be happy!

"People take different roads seeking fulfillment and happiness.  Just because they're not on your road doesn't mean they've gotten lost."  ~H. Jackson Brown