A purposeful habit

I started my day by revisiting a habit that I had neglected – journaling. I have written in my journal on and off for some time. Recently I picked up my journal and realised it had been a few months since my last entry.

What happened? I had been busy and so, I stopped doing something that I found very useful. I need to change this.

Recently, I heard that it takes over sixty days to form a new habit which contradicts previous claims of twenty-one days.

This has got me thinking about habits that I need to re-introduce if I’m to achieve my goal of being a more purposeful me.

The first habit I want to take up again is focussing my journal on gratitude. Life often comes with challenges. If we are not careful, we end up only seeing the challenges and soon lose sight of the blessings.

Having a daily habit that focuses on the right things and the blessings of life will give us some perspective and help us to be more appreciative.

My plan this morning was to write ten things I was grateful for but the more I wrote, the more I had to write. Three pages on, I went over my notes and counted thirty-two things I was grateful for. As I finished my journal entry, I added a couple more things I was grateful for.

These were thirty-four things I had not thought about as I was preoccupied with a recent break in at my house. I thought of the invasion of my privacy, the destruction of the door and the unexpected money that we needed to spend doing the repairs.

As I meditated on gratitude today, I was grateful that nothing was taken, no one was hurt or traumatised and we are able to make the necessary changes. By focusing on what I was grateful for, I soon realised the blessings far outweigh the recent upsets.

On my journey to becoming a more purposeful me, I am bound to encounter some challenges and setbacks and there’s a risk of me losing sight of the bigger picture.

To keep me focused, I have decided to form a new habit of gratitude ‘journal-ling’. My plan is to start each day with twenty minutes of journalling focused purely on what I’m grateful for. I’m committing to this for the next seventy days and by the end of this, I’m expecting this to become second nature.

I don’t know where you are in life, the current challenges you’re facing or the goals that you have. What I do know is that having an attitude of gratitude will help you to positively and better navigate life.

Instead of complaining about your job, children, boss or neighbour be grateful. Be grateful that you’re not alone, for food on your table and that you can get to work without any help. Be grateful for getting to work late because of an accident; remember someone was in that accident and lives might have been lost.

This week, I hope you will consider taking up this gratitude challenge for the next seventy days.

Start your day by writing down three things you’re grateful for. Don’t just think it, write it down. After a week, increase it to five things you’re grateful for.

I can guarantee that soon, you will find twenty things that you’re grateful for without breaking a sweat.

Let’s go for this new habit together. We can help each other by finding someone to be accountable to.

Thanks for reading my post. I look forward to seeing you next week. In the meantime, happy gratitude ‘journal-ling’.

Please share this post with others. I’m sure there are lots of people who need a shift in their mindsets. Help someone to be more grateful.