The following is cross-posted from the Weekly Gratitude Blog. I will post there every Tuesday and decided to post those posts here, too. For those of you who read both blogs, I apologize in advance. Some weeks the content might be different and other weeks, exactly the same.
In my opinion, the people who give up on their resolutions fall into two categories: those who never start and those who can’t keep it up. Today, I wanted to talk about the first set since I think those might the people who’re likely giving up on this project right around now.
Let’s say you read about Weekly Gratitude somewhere and thought it would be a lovely idea to do it in 2010. You spent some time thinking about your format or maybe you had big ambitions about making a fancy album with beautifully designed pages every week. You might have even begun the album but you never really did a page. You just couldn’t settle on a format. You’ve been meaning to do it but we’re already on week 4 of the year. Now you’re so behind, it doesn’t even seem worth it. Is it worth it?
Absolutely.
Let me repeat that: YES! It’s WORTH IT!
You can still begin and you should absolutely do so. The great thing about this project is that it doesn’t have a timeline. The calendar year is an imposed timeline and not a natural one. The best time to start practicing gratitude is……
now.
Not in January 1 or February 1 or any other time. It’s just now. Scrap the fancy format you intended to do, give up on the beautiful layouts, but don’t give up on practicing gratitude. If you’re struggling with getting started, simplify. Simplify a lot. Take just one photo a week, or jot down a few words. Even a single sentence each week counts. The goal is to take a moment (however small it may be) and pay attention to something that makes you feel grateful.
You don’t have to go back and create ones for the first few weeks of the year. Start from this moment on. Lori doesn’t put dates on her art and I think that’s a marvelous idea, gratitude doesn’t have anything to do with a timeline. The goal is to notice more. To look around and see the things that are wonderful in your life right now. If all you end up doing is taking a moment for ten minutes a week and thinking of one thing that you’re grateful for, I think you’ll still find the exercise to be powerful and beneficial.
All this is to say, you can start now. Don’t tell yourself that it’s all over cause you haven’t begun yet. Don’t punish yourself by making yourself go back and do all of the previous weeks. Don’t fret if you did week one and skipped weeks 2 and 3. It doesn’t matter. You can start now and you can continue now. Don’t worry about impressing others. Don’t worry about the quality of your art or words. This is not for other people. You don’t have to share it with anyone. This is for you.
This is so you can see the good things in your life and nothing should get in the way of that.
I don’t mean to sound preachy or like I’m scolding. I really just want to encourage you. I want you to know that this one resolution can be started anytime. It’s not tied to January 1.
Today’s as good a day as any so if you’re in doubt, today is the best day to start this project.
Ps: If you have friends who has intended to do the project but gave up and aren’t even reading our blog anymore, please send them this post. Encourage them to start. I wholeheartedly believe that they will be grateful to you for encouraging them.
The journaling reads:
I have been on the design team for A Million Memories for over two years. While I love the kits and I adore the community, I’ve been telling myself that I need to quit. I have way too much on my plate and my preferred layout style is too clean and plain to be on a kit club design team.
But I can’t seem to do it. Even though I feel guilty and sometimes even frustrated about the whole thing, each time a new kit arrives at my door, I’m like a kid in a candy shop. I tear that box apart, and I immediately start designing layouts in my mind.
This kit is the reason I do at least four layouts a month. Many months, this kit is the only layouts I do in a month. I often wonder if it weren’t for the kit, would I take the time to sit and make layouts? Regularly? I’d like to say “yes” but I honestly am not sure.
As of now, the A Million Memories kit is the reason I get to capture our stories regularly. And I am very grateful for that.
The following is cross-posted from the Weekly Gratitude Blog. I will post there every Tuesday and decided to post those posts here, too. For those of you who read both blogs, I apologize in advance. Some weeks the content might be different and other weeks, exactly the same.
Before I changed the design of my blog, I used to have a tag line that read “Extraordinary Moments from an Ordinary Life.” I’ve had my blog for over ten years and, in that time, I’ve had many different tag lines but none of them rang as true to me as this one.
Life is so extraordinary. Especially the simple, ordinary day.
Last week, I was sitting at my kitchen table, feeding my nine-month-old some cereal and fruit while I helped my older one practice his lowercase letters and kept an eye on my email. And for a split second, I took a moment to look at my life from an outsider’s perspective and I felt a huge rush of gratitude. There was nothing extraordinary about a baby eating some solid food and a five-year-old practicing letters. Yet, everything about it seemed extraordinary to me. Did I really have two amazing boys who made my heart sing? This wonderful laptop to check my mails on and the great kitchen to prepare meals in? (I don’t even cook, imagine if I did.) I felt thankful for the warm house. (It was raining outside and my home last year was not insulated at all so I would be freezing if I were still there.) I felt thankful to be able to live such an ordinary life. To get to get up, feed my kids, help my kids, do my work, all in the comfort of my home. To have a kind, loving husband. To have a job. To have arms, legs, and a healthy body.
I know that some of these things might seem inane to some of you. I complain about many of these a lot of the time. There are days when I am tired and I don’t want to have to feed my son one more meal or I want my older one to be quiet so I can think. Days where I wish I wouldn’t have to respond to one more work email. Some days I am so tired, I wish I could sleep all day. And don’t even get me started on my body and what’s happened to it after having had two kids. (I don’t mind the stretch marks, but I would love to lose the weight.)
And yet, I love my life. There are so many good things about it. There are so many miracles that happen everyday. The tiny hug from my boy or even just a giggle. The baby’s soft hands on my face. Some small accomplishment at work. A hug from my husband’s strong, loving arms. These are miracles to me. Miracles of the ordinary life. The lives we get to live. How similar they are and yet how uniquely different.
I thought this would be a good week to celebrate the ordinariness of our lives. The fact that we get to have ordinary lives. The little extraordinary moments that fill each of our days. I hope you’ll take some time with me to observe, cherish, and be grateful for the extraordinary miracle of the ordinary.
EDITED TO ADD: As it always seems to happen, I found this incredible video in Jena’s blog today and I had to come share since it fits so well with my topic. I hope you enjoy it as much as I have.
The journaling reads:
I am full-time work-at-home Mom. I have a relatively demanding job and an eight-month-old baby and a five-year-old son. I have no help. My older boy goes to school from 9 to 11:45 and I spend two hours of my day driving him there and back.
The rest of the time, they are both at home with me. I have to make food, nurse, put down, pick up, change diapers, and do the million other things that come with being a mom. I also have to attend meetings and video conferences and send email and resolve problems, and the million other things that come with being an employee.
Most days I can balance the two okay. But there are times when everything seems to happen at once. The baby is upset but something from work really needs my attention at that very moment. During those times, I am extra grateful for these little puffs that Nathaniel loves so much. Once he’s properly fed, I know I can give him a handful and he’ll eat quietly while I give undivided attention to my work.
The following is cross-posted from the Weekly Gratitude Blog. I will post there every Tuesday and decided to post those posts here, too. For those of you who read both blogs, I apologize in advance. Some weeks the content might be different and other weeks, exactly the same.
The first official week of the year has been a tough one for me. I am someone who thrives on routine and the holiday season is far from a regular weekly schedule, so I was looking forward to the first week of the year. Looking forward to everything going back to the way it was.
Well, it didn’t exactly work that way. My little boy decided to sleep less and cry more. My older one complained that he needed to be entertained and I just couldn’t get back into the groove of work. At the end of every day, I felt worn out, depressed and like I got nothing done. I was so busy and so disorganized that I didn’t even get a chance to look at the todo lists I’d made, let alone make a clean one.
I had decided at the beginning of this project that while I did the art once a week, I was going to write three things I was thankful for every day, at the end of the day. I post on my blog daily so I just added this section to my posts. And I’ve now been doing it for 11 days. Even during the roughest of days, I had to take a moment and think of three good things that happened that day. And, to be honest, I was able to without a problem.
Just goes to show you that even when the times seem really tough, good things happen throughout the day. If you take time to pay attention, you will notice them. This practice reminds me every day that wonderful things are happening in my life right now. All the time. And when I am so tired that I can barely get up, it’s good to remember that.
So here’s a challenge for you if you’re up for it: for the next week, write down 3 things you’re thankful for every day. Every night before you go to sleep. Jot it on a piece of paper. Anywhere that works for you. Don’t leave it to the morning because I promise you’ll forget. Just give it a whirl for a week and see how it makes you feel.
I hope it will be as rewarding for you as it has been for me.
The journaling reads:
Google has multiple award systems. But the one I like the most is called a “peer bonus.” It’s an award that one employee can give another employee for doing something above and beyond. It can be something small or big, as long as it made a significant impact on the nominator’s work. The award itself isn’t a huge amount, but, for me, it’s a great privilege to receive one.
While I appreciate being recognized by the managers for large accomplishments as much as the next person, there’s something special about having one of your peers recognize you for something small but impactful. Google is a large company, small things could easily go unnoticed every day. And yet, the peer bonus system gives each employee a way to appreciate another and make sure the extra effort was recognized.
I love the fact that Google has created such a system so that employees can officially show gratitude towards each other.
The following is cross-posted from the Weekly Gratitude Blog. I will post there every Tuesday and decided to post those posts here, too. For those of you who read both blogs, I apologize in advance. Some weeks the content might be different and other weeks, exactly the same.
When Lori and I were planning Weekly Gratitude and what we might want our blog schedule to look like, I thought it might be interesting to have each of us post a little blog post of our thoughts. I know she plans to post sketches and other goodies, but I have no idea what my intention for these posts is. Some weeks it might just be a collection of random thoughts on gratitude. Other weeks, it might be a pep talk. Or a gratitude-related story that happened to me that week. Or something I find inspiring. Or some goodies I made.
I am really not sure yet. While a part of me is itching to create some kind of pattern for these posts (I am a computer programmer, after all), another part of me really wants to make these posts fluid. I want this to be the excuse for me to sit and take a moment each week to jot some thoughts down. To observe my week. To reflect. In my insanely-busy life, I don’t do that nearly as often as I should. So, for now, I am forcing myself not to over-plan these posts.
All this is to say: the quality of these posts might vary wildly from week to week and I apologize in advance for that.
I wanted to start by thanking all of you for taking this journey with us. Committing to a year-long project is a big deal. But I have every reason to believe that you will get more out of this than you put into it. There’s something magical about declaring an intention and doing it in a group. It’s like when you do your daily walks with a friend, you’re way more likely to actually do them than if you’re going at it alone. Think of us as your gratitude-buddies. When you feel like you might give up, leave us a comment, email us, ask for help. We’ll be here to cheer you on. We believe in this project wholeheartedly and we’re committed to it and to you. And your presence makes it easier for us to work on our project, too. So thank you for being here. Thank you for doing this with us.
I know the next few weeks will be easy. All projects start with a high level of enthusiasm and take at least a few weeks to frizzle out. So take advantage of these weeks. Pay extra-close attention to the little things. The “seemingly ordinary” miracles of life. Enjoy the process and take a moment to reflect. Remember this project is about gratitude. It doesn’t matter if your art didn’t turn out the way you had envisioned or hoped, it only matters that you took a moment to express gratitude. Focus on that.
There will be new ones to come but in case you don’t regularly read my blog and haven’t already downloaded these, here are two sets of digital downloads I had made with the theme of gratitude. The first is a set of photo-overlays and the second is a set of journaling spots. Hope you enjoy them.
I want to remind you to please share links to your projects. We would like to regularly highlight your art/words on Wednesdays and if you’re not participating in one of our communities, the only way we can find you is through the comments you leave.
Thank you again for being here with us. Here’s to a year filled with gratitude!
When I was trying to figure out what format might be the best for me to use for my gratitude journey, I decided to focus on what I value the most: photos and words.
I take pictures everyday. Mostly of my children, but also of other things that are in my life. This is something I’ve been doing every day for the last two years and I plan to continue doing it in 2010. I also write on my blog every day. I decided that in 2010, each of my daily entries will list three things that I am thankful for on that day. This is something I did for a while in 2008 and I really loved it, so I think it’s good to bring it back. This way, I will have tons of ideas to choose from when it comes to doing my weekly art.
Since I am on the computer most of my day, I decided to do my project fully digitally. I made simple photoshop templates that accommodate photos of either orientation and different amounts of text. Each week, I will simply change the date, add a photo, and write my few words. This way, I am not spending so much time worrying about what paper to pick, what embellishments to add, etc. I am just focusing on the core element of practicing gratitude. I have found that sometimes worrying about the “artistic” side can get in the way of things and I don’t want anything to stop me from doing this project and I don’t want anything to take away from the essence of the project.
With all that in mind, here is what I made:
For a landscape photo:
And for portrait photo (I made two options here). One with smaller photo, more text.
And another with bigger photo, less text.
All of these are 4×6 so at the end of the year (or at periodic times throughout the year) I will print them all out and put them in a photo album or box of my choice. This way, I get to have them in paper form as well. And I can embellish the cover or box as I please.
The only caveat is that I am using two fonts that aren’t free. For the date, I used “Big Caslon” and for the title and text, I used “Avenir” (in different weights.) Since neither of those are free, I changed the fonts in the templates so the dates are in “Old Rubber Stamp” (free download here) and the title and text are in Verdana. If you’re a digi person, each of the frames are their own layer so you can also change their color as you wish.
If you have questions, feel free to leave a comment and I will do my best to help. And, remember, the goal here is to practice weekly gratitude so when you’re thinking about your own format, make sure to keep it simple and doable.
My good friend Lori pinged me on IM a few weeks ago and showed me The Gratitude Project by Brenda and she told me how much she liked the idea and that she wanted to do it for 2010. Not only did she want to do it, but she wanted to “teach it” and have a community around it, etc etc. She wanted to make downloads, ideas, etc to encourage other people to practice weekly gratitude, too. And then she asked me if I’d like to do it with her.
Would I?
Mmmm. Let me think for a second…Ok, I’ll be honest I didn’t even think for a second. I typed “YES!”
I love this idea so much! Last year, I attempted to practice daily thankfulness and it didn’t last very long. But I love reading those entries now. I am sad I didn’t continue and I am determined to do it this time around. I’ve already figured out my format and made sure it will be easy to keep up with it.
My plan is to write three things I’m thankful for each day. I will add that to my daily posts (which is another project for 2010) and then once a week, I will pick one thing and practice gratitude. More on my weekly project coming soon.
In the meantime, here’s our blog. It’s where Lori and I will be posting everything. We hope to have a post every weekday. Let’s see how it works. If you’re interested in this idea and want to play along with us, make sure to leave a comment there. Practicing regular gratitude is really good for your soul and it’s been proven to make people happier.
I hope you join us!
Like last year, I am picking a few special projects I plan to do for the duration of 2010. These are recurring projects that are daily, weekly, or monthly. I will share them in the next few weeks as we approach the new year.
