Aug 31, 2017

What Happened When I Blogged About Gratitude for 31 Days

Day 31: What Happened When I Blogged About Gratitude for 31 Days**

I can't remember what prompted me to start the 31 Days of Gratitude series. However, whatever it was, I'm grateful for it! This has been a terrific experience.

The best part of writing about gratitude was the time I spent thinking about what to write. It shifted my brain from its usual cycle of worry/anger/annoyance to happier thoughts. I'd wake up and say, ok, what am I grateful for? What am I going to write about? And that process sparked some fantastic reflection. Memories flooded and I felt the abundance of a good life. I'd look around, literally and figuratively, and identify all the good things.

Doing this didn't wipe out the sources of my worry/anger/annoyance. There still there. It didn't totally change my personality -- I'm still a skeptic, a worrier. But, the edges of that skepticism and anxiety were worn down just a bit, rounded by gratitude and a bit of joy.

I also loved reading your comments. I'm still working my way through responding to each of them. If you haven't taken the time to read them, you may want to do so. They are terrific. Thank you for taking the time to comment.

Finally, I felt kind of funny writing about some parts of my life. I didn't want to come off as someone with a perfect life. Social media has a way of leaving the wrong impression and making everyone's life look either perfect or tragic. Mine's neither.

So thanks for reading along and it if you are trying to cope with garden level anxiety, this is a great mechanism to shift your focus to the positive.

MOOD WHEN DONE = Grateful

** If you've just found this series, you can start from the beginning by looking on the right side of my blog at the list of blog posts in August 2017.


12 comments:

I Card Everyone said...

Even though I didn't comment on each and every day, I so thoroughly enjoyed your journal of gratitude! J.B. there's not a perfect life on earth - we're all flawed! Having said that, I do love how you add a perfectly big smile to my imperfect [but fun just the same] days... xx
=]

Diane McVey said...

I loved every single day of your month of gratitude! The stories were interesting and so well written. Reading your posts always brings a smile to my face. Thank you for making my days brighter with your marvelous insights.

Hazel said...

I have loved reading your month of gratitude. I have also been writing in a gratitude journal (trying to change my mindset to look at the positive events in life). Your postings have been an inspiration. Thanks for sharing!

Helen Kalb said...

Dear Joan,
Your blog is on my favorite list and has been for a while. I look every day because I really like your cards. Little by little I've also discovered you are a great writer and when you started this series I knew there would be good stuff. For two weeks I was on vacation on the west coast which meant I could wake up and read your thoughts first thing in the morning, that was fun! I have thoroughly enjoyed this month, thanks for this terrific series of posts. I wish you all the best,
Helen

Trish said...

Joan, your series has resonated with me. I agree that gratitude can "wear down the edges" of worry and anxiety. I have found gratitude to be a wonderful coping mechanism when I begin to have panic, grief or worry (usually in the dark of the night). Counting the blessings in my life one by one gives immediate relief and balance. After reading this series, I am encouraged to dig deeper as I add to my own life of gratitude. Thank you Joan for your humor and strength of character.

Leslie Miller said...

You took the edge off for many of us. I'm glad it worked for you and I hope it will stay with you for a while. When it starts to wear off, do it again. I used to write in a gratitude journal every night. That was when I was very stressed from work. Work stress is small potatoes compared to some things, but it wears you down.

Dorie said...

Hi Joan! As always, your emails make my day. Some years ago I found your writings when you were blogging about your Mom (and other thing, too) but at that time what you were writing was just what I needed.

Now I feel like I know you even better and am glad to be a part of your life still. For me, I just need to remember to be grateful AND use the muscles in my cheeks to turn up the corners of my mouth!! Look at your smile! It's contagious, it really is. Thanks so much.

Tammy said...

Thank you for sharing from your heart, each one touched me in a different way.
Blessings, Tammy

Sabrina said...

It's been a bit of a busy month for me what with one thing and another, including my dad dying very suddenly, but I wanted to take time to say how much I enjoyed reading your Gratitude posts, even if I was usually catching up several at a time. You have such a gift for writing, Joan. When I feel a bit more normal again I'm hoping to come back and re-read some of the ones I paid less attention to. I found the one on depression very moving. Having a sister ten years older than me who was anorexic and severely manic depressive through most of my teens, mental illness was very much just a part of normal life for me but I know there is still far too much stigma attached to it in society at large.

Sharon said...

Joan, I loved this series. You've hit on the secret to happiness: being grateful for what you DO have, not thinking about what you don't have. We all have so much, if we just pay attention and deliberately feel grateful for it. I'm grateful for all the smiles you've brought to me by your wonderful writing.

Diana K said...

Thanks so much for doing this series and sharing it with us. Each day you made me stop and appreciate that it's all the little things that matter the most in life. And that we're all basically the same. And that world peace would be a dream.
P.S. I was wondering if you could find it in yourself to be just a teeny bit more grateful in the not too distant future? She said with hope in her voice.

Diana K said...

Joan, I just read your comment on my blog. I meant that your honesty and openness reinforces my belief that most humans are basically the same. None of us have perfect lives, but we keep on trying, and that all the little blessings are the ones that matter the most. If you're talking about my postscript, I just want you to continue the series! Or start a new one, LOL. Soon. ❤️😘❤️