So I’m the kind of person that loves to be busy. When my calendar looks like a rainbow has spewed its beautiful colours across the pages I am a happy camper. Because the only thing that I love more than being busy is being organized. Checklists? Built in reminders? Due dates? Sign me up! January though, has not been quite as busy as I had hopped.
And here is what I realized: without a busy schedule my ability to organize becomes negligent to say the least. When there are huge gaps of time all over my week that 10am workout suddenly gets pushed to 1opm and then to the next day until suddenly it disappears. Now this would all be fine and dandy if I was the kind of person that felt complete laying on the couch all day, but the reality is I don’t.
Yesterday while I was wasting time on my computer I ended up watching a TED talk by Shawn Achor where he spoke about how we always think that to be happy we must first be successful, yet our brain is actually programmed to work the other way around. To be successful, we must at first be happy. Now I’m not saying that I am by any means unhappy, more just in need of a change, but his talk kind of kickstarted a desire in me to make my life a little more well rounded.
One of the tools Achor briefly mentioned was the 21 day gratefulness challenge where for 3 weeks every day you name three things you are grateful for or that make you happy. This challenge isn’t something I’m unfamiliar with, I actually did it quite successfully a few years back. It got me thinking though, instead of focusing on the fact that I have so much free time on my hands, why not focus on all the awesome things I can fill that time with. Why not celebrate that I am in a position where I can devote hours of my day to whatever truly makes me happy (and I guarantee that isn’t watching Modern Family episodes until 2 in the morning).
But I decided to up the anti a little bit this time. I am challenging myself to find three things each day for an entire month that directly relate to my plan for that day. Instead of just waking up every morning thinking of three things and sitting back down on the couch I want the things I am thankful for to inspire me to be more active. Furthermore, by sharing these things with the world wide web, it gives me a sense of responsibility to follow through. Plus it will make me actually use this blog instead of letting it sit here collecting virtual dust.
So here goes! Tomorrow morning: Day 1 of being Grateful. But in anticipation, I leave you with a freebie: I am grateful for the ability and means to take control of my future by making changes in myself.
Candice J. M. Irwin 
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What a wonderful idea! I look forward to reading about your journey.
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