Brainstorming a Gratitude List
Dedicate time to create your list. Before you begin writing your daily posts, you will need to find some time to write down a list of 30 things that you appreciate. Set aside a few hours to think about things that you are thankful for and develop your list. Try to respect the time that you have set aside for your list by not interrupting it with distractions like social media or television.
Think about the things that you appreciate. Once you find the time, sit down and contemplate the things in your life that you are thankful for and want to recognize. Think about your friends and family. Consider the small things that make your life easier or happier. Ask yourself questions like “Who are the people in my life that make me smile every day?” or “What things could I absolutely not live without?” Remember that there are no wrong answers to this exercise.
Categorize your thankfulness. While you are brainstorming, try to think of categories in which the things that you appreciate belong. You can list things that you are thankful for right now and things in your past that you appreciate. You can also do simple categories like listing the people, places, and things that you appreciate. Think of things in terms of categories will help your mind draw connections to other items and help fill out your list. This is also helpful if you decide to list your posts by theme.
Talk to people. Another easy way to get ideas is by talking to your friends and family. Chat with your loved ones about things that you all appreciate. You may find that they list things that you had not thought of. You may also find that they inspire you to think of things by helping you draw parallels between their life and yours. At the very least, it is a great exercise to share with the people that you love.
Take your time. Take a few days or even a week to think about things that you appreciate. Mull it over and evaluate the things on your list. Unless you want to wing it, try not to rush brainstorming for the challenge. The thankfulness challenge is an exercise in thoughtfulness, which requires time and patience. Ask yourself questions like “Do I really appreciate this thing?” or “Should this be higher on my list?”
Write a rough draft. As you are brainstorming ideas, be sure to write them down in a notebook or a word processor. This will help you remember the things that you appreciate. Try to think of more than thirty things, that way you have options if you end up not feeling a certain item. As you write down your items, you can order them however you would like. The important thing is to get them down.
Arrange your list. Once you have your list, you may want to give it some order and arrange it a certain way. If you have any important dates during the challenge, you may want to make sure that you have a related thankfulness post for that day. For example, if a family member’s birthday falls during your thankfulness challenge, you may want to save expressing your gratitude towards them until that day.
Writing Your Posts
Start the Challenge. The 30 Days of Thankfulness Challenge is typically held over the course of the month of November, starting on November 1 and ending on November 30. However, you can participate in the challenge whenever you want. You can begin expressing your gratitude during a time that feels appropriate and special to you. If you are spiritual, look to your religious beliefs to help you find an appropriate time to do the challenge. If there is a religious holiday that you find particularly meaningful, consider doing the challenge during that time.
Create your post ahead of time. If you are the type who likes to plan things out, consider writing your post ahead of time. This will give you the time to think about the things that you want to say. If you want to make sure that it is edited and free of grammar errors, you may want to consider writing your post in a word processor like Word or Google Docs. Ideally, you will want your post to be relatively short (less than 40 words). It should convey your gratitude by be succinct enough to be read quickly. If you want to be more spontaneous and capture your emotions, you may want to consider writing your post in the moment.
Find a good time to post your gratitude. You can write your post early in the morning, that way you will have all day to reflect on your gratitude. You may also want to write it in the evening, which will allow you to comment on things that happened during the day. You may also choose a combination of the two methods to keep things flexible.
Use a hashtag. If you are participating in a particular organization’s challenge, they will likely give you a hashtag to use in your post. If you are doing the challenge on your own, you can use a hashtag like #30daysofthankfulness or #Iamthankful. Using a hashtag will allow you to share you gratitude with others who are participating in the challenge.
Mention what day of the challenge it is. Along with a hashtag, you will also want to include what day of the challenge it is. For example, if it is the fourteenth day of the challenge, you will want to post something like “Thankfulness Challenge: Day 14” or “Day 14 of the Thankfulness Challenge.” This will let others know where you are in the process and it helps you track your progress.
Wing it. If you are feeling more adventurous and want to express things that you are grateful for in the moment, you may want to consider writing your posts spontaneously. Skip brainstorming writing out a list ahead of time and simply comment on a specific thing that you are grateful for off of the top of your head. This will allow you to react to unpredictable events in your life and comment on them. For example, if your partner surprises you with a gift, writing spontaneously will allow you to post about that. However, on certain days, you may also find that you do not have something worth posting about and have to scramble to post something. This may lead to you writing a throwaway post about something that is not that important to you.
Staying Motivated
Get inspired. Try to do things that will motivate you to post about your gratitude. Participate in activities that relieve stress, make you happy, or fill you with awe. These things will not only inspire you to keep posting, they will also give you new material for posts. Try to pursue your hobbies and your passions during your challenge.
Focus on one post at a time. If the thought of posting for 30 days seems a little daunting, take it one day at time. Focus on writing each day’s post and do not concern yourself with what you will post tomorrow. You may find that focusing on achieving a small goal each day makes it easier to complete the bigger challenge. Creating a list of things that you are thankful for before the challenge begins will also help mitigate some of this stress.
Build community. Finding others who are participating in the challenge will help you stick with the challenge. Using the hashtag, chat with other people who are participating in the challenge. Give them encouragement about their gratitude and share your experiences. Try to bond with others over your common experiences of friends, family and thankfulness. Remember to stay positive and try not to be critical or judgmental of other people’s posts. Starting a flame war with someone about the thankfulness challenge will not make you feel good about yourself or the experience.
Keep posting. If you do not get the response that you expected, do not give up on the challenge. The goal is for you to focus on the things in your life that you appreciate. If you do not get many likes, shares, or retweets, try not to get discouraged. Although you are sharing with other people, the emphasis should be on your emotions and your appreciation of the things in your life.
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