The 7-Day Gratitude Challenge That Brings Fast Results
Gratitude Challenge
A gratitude challenge is the fastest and most effective way to become more grateful in your everyday life.
Because being more grateful is not always easy. It might not come naturally to you, or you may just be stuck in a rut right now, yet you want to focus on the good around you. Either way, this 7-day challenge is a great way to kick start your gratitude practice.
It’s quick, easy and returns amazing results in the way you will look at your life.
Why You Need a Gratitude Challenge
You’ve probably heard about why you should practice gratitude. If not, start with these articles to really get an understanding of the importance of gratitude and how it can improve your life, then come back to the ‘how’ of gratitude:
Gratitude is a potential mindset that exists in each and every one of us. It can be awakened and developed to dramatically change the way you think about things – and can transform your life in ways you never imagined.
It can create a huge paradigm shift. Suddenly, so many of the things that keep you tossing and turning at night become trivial and meaningless – while the things you should be putting your effort into, the things that have true value and meaning, become crystal-clear to you.
So, how do we ‘practice’ something as elusive and intangible as gratitude? Actually, it’s one of the easiest things to do. This 7-Day challenge will show you how to practice gratitude in a very simple way, every day for one week.
It will help rewire your brain and sow the seeds for a lasting mindset that becomes second nature. Try it yourself and at the end of the seven days you will never view your life – and the world around you – in the same way again!
“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend” Buddha
What Is The Gratitude Challenge?
The 7-Day Gratitude Challenge requires no special tools, preparation or costs. All you need to get started are two key things:
1. Somewhere to document your gratitude
You will need somewhere to record your experiences each day. There are apps that you can use, and you can type them up on your devices, however, it’s far more effective to record your entries in your own handwriting.
Therefore, a journal, a piece of paper or a gratitude challenge tracker is perfect as this will better imprint the experiences in your mind. You can download a free challenge below:
From there, it’s super simple. Twice a day – in the morning and at night – you dedicate 5 minutes to consider what you are grateful for.
On waking, take the time to consider the gratitude prompt listed for the day.
Then each night before you go to bed, take a few minutes to jot down three things that you are feeling grateful for at that time.
You must do this each day for the first seven days and the next seven days if you decided to repeat the challenge for another week. As you get the hang of it, it’s sufficient to make entries into your journal twice or three times a week after that.
There’s an added bonus as well. Research has linked gratitude journaling with lower stress levels, improved mental clarity and better sleep. This should be enough motivation to keep your journal entries top of mind at the end of each day!
2. Consistency
When you make the intention to take the 7-Day gratitude challenge, you must make the commitment to follow through consistently.
The first week is especially important because you are preparing your brain to rewire itself for gratitude. If you skip days or go through the challenge half-heartedly, your brain will register that gratitude is not important enough for you to make it a habit.
However, this may not be easier said than done. It won’t be easy for people who are generally pessimistic and negative in their thinking. But it will be worth it.
We are all programmed to think negatively more than we do positively, as it is an innate survival instinct from the days when our ancestors had to expect the worst in order to stay alive. However, this can be overcome with consistency and practice.
In order to change, the brain needs to experience gratitude regularly. That’s why it’s important to follow the challenge through the full seven days and keep gratitude top of mind.
Set your alarm 5-10 minutes early and get your day started in the morning and wind down in the evenings in the most positive way you can.
Gratitude builds
The more we experience gratitude, the more the brain changes to make it a mindset. Keeping a gratitude journal and staying consistent will allow you to achieve this by creating a continuous cycle of gratitude in your life.
Gratitude is the feeling of thankfulness that creates magic in your brain. The 7-Day Challenge is your first step towards learning how to embrace and practice gratitude in your life.
Practice the challenge week after week for as long as you need to until gratitude becomes a part of everything you do. The idea is to form a new habit and you will find that you start automatically looking for things that you can be grateful for.
Even in the worst of times, we still have things that we can be grateful for. Let that be your motto on your journey to a happier, more fulfilling life.
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