This is Day 7 of the 14-Day Gratitude Challenge held in Aug 2013, where we practice gratitude for 14 days. The challenge is now over but you can do the tasks in your own time. Visit the overview page for all the challenge tasks.
Hey everyone, welcome to Day 7 of our 14-day gratitude challenge! :D We have finally reached the mid-point of the challenge! How time flies, aye? ;)
As of the posting of this task, I’m actually on my flight from Glasgow to Singapore. I’ve pre-written this task and scheduled it to go live on Day 7 of the challenge, so all is well. Much gratitude to WordPress’ scheduling function which makes it possible for the challenge to run undisrupted despite my travel! :)
Day 7: Loving Yourself
In Day 13: Appreciate Yourself of Be a Better Me in 30 Days, I assign participants the task of self-love, where they assess their level of self-love, write a list of 30 things (or more) they appreciate about themselves, and finally write a letter of appreciation to themselves.
For the participants, this task is always revealing, because they realize that they don’t love themselves as much as they should, or for some, not at all. It’s unfortunate because of all the people we encounter in our lifetime, we are the one constant who is always there. We are always so cognizant of others’ presence, always trying to be there for others–to help others–yet we don’t realize that we are a person too.
This little “me” in us — he/she has always been there since we were born. He/she has always been there to weather challenges, overcome hardships, and help us craft the life that we want. He/she is always there during our heartaches, our moments of sadness, moments of insecurity, times of loneliness and times of disappointment.
Our gratitude challenge is to cultivate the habit of gratitude and express gratitude for all things in our life–and that includes ourselves. As we give thanks to the marvelous things in our lives, from the things in our lives, to our food, to other people, to our adversaries, to even our lives themselves, let’s not forget to give thanks to us.
So today, your task is to give thanks to yourself.
Your Task: Give Thanks to Yourself
Write a gratitude note to yourself in your gratitude journal.
In your note, you may want to include:
- What you are grateful for about yourself
- Why you are grateful for you
- Why you wouldn’t want to be anyone else but you in this lifetime
Once again, there is no limit to the length — you can write something short or even long, like two, three, four, or even more pages! This task is about expressing your utmost gratitude to yourself, something which many of us don’t do enough actually, as evidenced by some participants’ sharing for Day 5’s task on appreciating your adversary.
(Some participants felt that they are actually their own biggest adversaries. Self-sabotage, anyone? Read: Are You Self-Sabotaging Yourself? (Understanding Self-Sabotaging Behavior and Breaking It))
Daily Journaling: Write 3 Things You Are Grateful for Today
On top of today’s task, identify 3 things you are grateful for today. These 3 things can be events that occurred today, mishaps which could have happened but didn’t happen, or simply things which have always been in your life but which you suddenly came to feel grateful for today.
3 things I’m grateful for today:
- Thanks to WordPress’ scheduling function, today’s task can go live at the day and time it’s supposed to be posted, despite being caught in a day-long travel transit from Glasgow to Singapore. (I’ll be back in Singapore by Day 8 of the challenge.) Yay to WordPress! :)
- By the time this article is posted, I would be back in Singapore. So happy to be back home, where the temperature (even if it’s hot and humid) is what my body is most acclimatized to! Being in a cold place always helps me to appreciate the hot(ter) weather in Singapore!
- The option to have different meal choices on flights today. I see this as the result of a rise in society’s consciousness level and catering to different needs. Here’s to healthier living!
Share Your Results!
What did you write in your gratitude note to yourself? What did you thank yourself for? Why should you thank yourself? Would you rather be anyone else in this lifetime, and if no, why?
You are free to share your gratitude note with all of us. Take a picture/screenshot of your gratitude note and share that even if you like!
What are 3 things you are grateful for today?
Share them in the comments section! :)
Once you’re done, proceed to Gratitude Challenge Day 8: Transform an Ungrateful Thought.
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