30 Day Challenge: 1+ Personalized Appreciation/day
I have recently gotten back to a habit I formed years ago: sharing a personalized appreciation at least once per day.
In most cases, I think of someone in my life and reach out. This is done at random and with no selective process. Some days I think of my college roommate (hi Suz!), some days I think of a family member, a current or previous colleague, a friend who offered a laugh or helping hand when I most needed it, a neighbor or someone else.
Once in a while, I will communicate my appreciation in a voicemail, phone call or face-to-face. Most often I choose to express my appreciation to over text.
I might say something like “You popped to mind today and I want you to know I’m thinking of you and I think you are rad.” Sometimes my messages of gratitude might be more customized, writing things like: “I’m reflecting on the day we had that amazing conversation over coffee. Thanks for being such a great friend!”
There are endless versions and there are never two that are intentionally the same.
My goal is to (1) cultivate my capacity to mine the positive out of life (2) strengthen the relationships that are important to me (3) be realistic about my availability to connect with the people I care about (daily text is doable for me, daily call with someone I love would not work for me) (4) brighten someone’s day (5) improve my mood by doing something that feels good.
I wonder if you may, like me, find this simple practice allows you to live more in alignment with your values, feel more present, connected and grateful.
I challenge you to set a goal of sending one message of appreciation per day for an entire month! Let me know how it goes.
