For the month of November, I made it a priority to keep track of one thing I was thankful for every day. Each week, I updated this page and spread the word about the idea (but I'm not so great at networking yet!).
Well, now, November is over, and my calendar is full.
My handwriting is a bit messy, I agree.
But, you can see the full list over here.
It was hard to think of something different to be thankful for each day! There were quite a few days where I'd be honestly thankful for something, only to see I'd written that down a day or two before.
I wanted to keep this list less materialistic as well, so there were plenty of days I was thankful for an actual thing but didn't want to use that, as I felt it was cheating.
In the end, I'm really glad I did this, though. It's an exercise, I think, to be more mindful of what is going on and what really matters in my life.
A few days I would forget to write something down, so I would have to do it the next morning, but for the most part I was on top of it - which, for me, is a big deal!
With November being over, I'm sad to see the spirit of thankfulness go along with it, though, so I'm going to keep this going. And since the A6 Hobonichi starts on the 1st of December (though, two days per page), I'm going to be adding "something to be thankful for" to the list of things I plan on documenting every day in there.
Just as the quote from Dieter F. Uchtdorf says (above), being thankful is a way of being, and why not work towards that? I know that even just for November, being aware of what I hold important has helped keep spirits high.
~Havok
P.S. November was chosen for this as it has Thanksgiving in it, and it just seemed natural to do so. Do you have a time of year that you are more thankful in?
I appreciate this reminder to be thankful for things, it is so often forgotten in the search for new things. I will add that to my daily list! I also have been waiting eagerly for the first of December so I could properly start using my Hobonichi, though I got the Cousin (A5) size as I wanted the weekly as well as the daily view. It fits nicely in a Filofax Flex cover, and I love it already. All planning is going in this, and notes and lists go in a Slimline Finsbury Filofax. How do you find the size of the A6 Techo, is it too small to plan in?
ReplyDeleteI have been following another site, which posted a list of questions to make you think about your life and what makes you happy or stressed, one was "Which 3-5 things are most important to you in life? Does the way you spend your time reflect these?". When answering that for myself it made me be thankful and more mindful of those people in my life that I am thankful for.
Regards, SMW
I was eyeing the Cousins, but my Hobonichi was a birthday gift, and with just the Japanese A6 and shipping, it was a crazy amount, so didn't ask for a case or the larger size or anything.
ReplyDeleteI don't plan on using my Hobo for planning, it will be a list book, basically (which, once it gets filled in a bit, I will be doing a post on how I use the thing!). I don't think, though, that I could plan my days in such a small space, my handwriting is too big for much other than lists in there, I'm betting.
I like that question, what is important and is that how you are spending your time. I try and not think about that so often, because even though there are lots of other things I ought to be doing, I need plenty of down time for activities that aren't *actually* productive!
And of course, thanks for stopping by!! :D
I think we lose sight of what's important in our modern society and that is to appreciate the little things. We don't celebrate Thanksgiving here in Malaysia but I try to remind myself to be thankful for the good things in life. I think it's great that you're continuing this in your new Hobonichi. By the way, I wanna see photos of yours. I've been contemplating if I should get one but am still unsure what I'll do with it.
ReplyDeleteOhhh don't contemplate, no no, just get one! The paper is so nice (I finally wrote in it today) and it seems so sturdy and ahhh, it's a delightful book :)
ReplyDeleteI was torn as to what to use it for as well, but it's basically going to be a list book, and once I've got a few days filled in, I'm going to share pictures, don't you worry! :)
It's easy to be grateful for the big things, but a lot of the times its the simple things to be most thankful for - you just don't realize it until you think about it!
I have been writing down something I am grateful for and something I enjoyed about my day most days for the past year and a half. I think it makes a difference most of the time to end my day on a positive note. Glad you decided to keep going.
ReplyDeleteI'm looking for more positive notes in my life, so I'm glad this is working for you! Thanks for stopping by!
ReplyDeleteI forgot to mention I have a blog post titled "Gratitude and Attitude" and will be posting a follow-up post in early Jan., if you're interested.
ReplyDeleteThanks, I will take a look!
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