30 Days of Gratitude Revisited
December 01, 2014
I did it! I stuck with my 30-Day Gratitude Photo Challenge,
posting a picture and a few sentences about what I’m grateful for every day
in November. This is an encouraging first for me!
I enjoyed being able to focus on all the good things I’m
grateful for and having them recorded in one place means I can revisit
them when I’m unhappy, stressed, or frustrated. In addition to that, I learned
that I can, indeed, stick with something for 30 days straight, and that yes,
sometimes it is easier to do something every day rather than once in a while.
(See Grechen Rubin’s post, “Proposed Resolution: Do Something Every Day.”)
A couple of things made this challenge doable for me. First,
there were specific boundaries. I knew how long the challenge would last
(30 days), and I knew the theme of each day’s post ahead of time, thanks to
Dani’s prompts. While I did have to decide what aspect to write about, having
the prompt meant I already had a topic, and that made it a lot easier for me. I
mostly posted at night, but I kept the prompt in mind all day. It probably took
me about 15 minutes at most to choose the photo, write the post and put them
both up. Once I had my post done, I didn’t fret about doing more—I knew I had
finished that day’s challenge and could move on to something else.
The second thing that helped was accountability—I
announced I was doing this challenge here on the blog, and that I intended to
post the photos on Facebook. Even though I doubt that anyone was waiting
breathlessly for my next post, I did feel accountable for making sure one made
it up there every day.
Speaking of posts, here are four of my favorites:
Day 7 prompt: Attire. I'm grateful for the riding boots my
husband gave me for Mother's Day 10 years ago. They help me feel more secure
when riding, and help my horse understand my cues better. Plus, I think they're
pretty cool looking (though they need to be cleaned and polished)!
Day 8 prompt: Friendship. This should be easy, because
friendship is hands down one of the things I'm most grateful for. To the women
I've met only virtually through blogging, to my barn buddies, to the far-flung
friends I only get to talk to occasionally, and to those special few who have
supported and encouraged me through all the highs and lows of life, I say a big
THANK YOU! I don't have one photo that can express all that, so I'll go with
this one of a little plaque that hangs in my kitchen--given to me by a friend,
of course!
Day 21 prompt: Scent. New Orleans is a town full of sights,
sounds, and smells--not all of them pretty. There's one scent I absolutely love
that you can occasionally get a whiff of as you walk down the street
there—Sweet Olive. Today I'm thankful for the Sweet Olive perfume I bought in
NOLA. Whenever I open the bottle, I'm whisked back to one of my favorite
cities.
Day 28 prompt: Desire. I'm grateful that there are things I
desire—things to work and plan for, and look forward to. One of my biggest
desires is to have the money and freedom to travel more—hence today's photo.
I am glad the challenge is done, and while I wasn’t exactly
getting bored with it, I am ready for a change. So what’s next? Armed with the
realization that I can stick to something, I want to choose another
thing to do for 30 days, something that will take approximately the same 15 minutes per day. Perhaps sketching—think how much improvement I’d make
if I sketched every day for 15 minutes! I know that to be successful, I need
boundaries and accountability. I’ll need to find or make up prompts for
sketching every day (any suggestions for a book or website that could help me
do this?), and I’ll need to have some accountability. I don’t want to post my
sketches on Facebook, however, because I want to feel free make mistakes and
try new things without being too embarrassed and without inflicting my learning
curve on others. Plus, in order to post my sketches, I’d have to scan them into
the computer daily, and that might just be the straw that breaks this
challenge’s back. Do I have enough gumption to be accountable to myself? I’m
not sure. I’m still pondering this. (Plus, I’m not prepared to commit to a
30-day project over the Christmas holidays. This will have to wait until 2015.)
4 comments
Dear Kathy - congratulations on this wonderful achievement. I am glad you shared some of your things that make you grateful here on the blog. Don't have enough time for Facebook so appreciate reading them here when I visit. One of the things I would certainly be thankful for is boots that would last 10 years! Mine never have made it that long (lol)!
ReplyDeleteThink the sketching challenge for 30 days would be good but like you will have to happen after Christmas. May be I can join you in that sketching one! Have a delightful day.
Congrats on completing your 30 day challenge. I have enjoyed reading about what you are grateful for. I actually did a 75 day sketching challenge once. I learned about it from Brenda Swenson's blog. You are supposed to sketch in pen for 75 days, and at the end, she sends you an Artistic Licence. I don't know if she still does it though.
ReplyDeleteDebbie--I'm glad you didn't mind the blog update on the challenge. I was hoping it wouldn't be overkill.
ReplyDeleteThose boots have lasted so long because they only get worn when I ride--once or twice a week at most. I don't think I have any other shoes that are 10 years old!
Cheryl--75 days, that's really impressive. In pen, too! That's cool that she sent you an Artistic License...a little reward at the end of your challenge.
ReplyDelete