Ready for Challenge Twenty?
First off, I have to say I cannot believe we are on challenge twenty! For all of you who have been following along for some time now trying out my challenges I just want to say thank you! Challenges are a fantastic way to try new things and create new habits which lead to better health. Congratulate yourself even if you have only tried one challenge. The great news is you can also go back and relook at all the earlier challenges here and either do one you may have skipped previously or repeat one if you feel you need a little redo. It is all up to you!
To be honest, coming up with twenty challenges that are super meaningful and impactful has not been easy. On this twentieth challenge I want to come back to gratitude. When I think about my healing journey from ankylosing spondylitis and iritis gratitude has played an undeniable role. When I say gratitude, I do not just mean being thankful for all the amazing things we have in our lives. That is certainly part of it but where I really grew in my gratitude practice was when I completely changed my perspective of situations and the world around me on a continual basis. And, let me tell you that it is not easy and does take intention and practice.
It is the difficult things that can throw us for a loop. However, finding gratitude in every moment is possible. For example, I recently was listening to a podcast and the person being interviewed was talking about the death of their father. They spoke about how incredibly difficult it was. They also shared that through gratitude the experience of death is still something to be thankful for. They shared that a friend had a living father who was never in their life. However, this person had a very present and loving father in their life for 30 years. And, even though they had passed they were grateful for the love their father showed them while on earth. I LOVE this perspective! We can always find gratitude if we look for it. It is also through gratitude even in the worst of times that we heal not only or physical bodies but our minds as well.
This month’s challenge is simple. Pick one event, struggle or circumstance you have met in your life and mediate on it for a bit. Bring yourself back to that place, think about what was around you, what you were hearing, seeing and how you were feeling. Then, think about what that event, struggle or circumstance has brought to your life. Think about what it taught you, what it allowed you to do, what change you made because of it etc. These are the keys to finding gratitude. In life many of our greatest struggles are what bring us to the present moment. They allow us to grow and learn and become a better version of ourselves.
More than likely we all have a few things that were difficult during our lives which caused us to go to a negative place filled with anger, distress, or lack of understanding. Each week this month take one thing (and event, struggle, circumstance) and work through this exercise. If you can only think of one that is fine. By doing this exercise and reliving what happened through your thoughts and then looking at it through a gratitude filter you will see things in a completely different way. Going forward continue to look for gratitude in all things and I promise you will find something.
Ready, Set, Go…. Challenge Time
The first step is to set up your free account at Healthstorylines.com if you have not already.
Simply click here to register for your free account.
Challenge Twenty Instructions:
1. Find a quiet place and get a notebook or piece of paper and a pen. Review this month’s challenge instructions above and write what ever pops into your head when answering the questions about the event, struggle or circumstance. Then write down thoughts on what you are thankful for or what learnings it has brought to your life.
Let’s continue to inspire each other!
If you need any help using the Health Story Lines app check out this amazing video!
If you missed my earlier challenges you will find them here!
