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The 7 day GRATITUDE experiment
I’ve started an experiment in gratitude.
They say that expressing our gratitude for the things in our lives makes us happier. So I’ve decided to give it a go for 7 days, to find out for myself if “they” really are right.
For the past 4 days I’ve been taking photographs of things that I’m grateful for. I’ve been using my iphone (which I gratefully received as a birthday present recently), since not only is my DSLR out of action, but with 2 young children there’s only so much I can carry around with me. And besides, it’s fun.
The first 2 days I was on a gratitude high. I took hundreds of photos, edited a few I like with the app software on the phone, and posted them on facebook to share with my friends and family. I just couldn’t believe how lucky I was. So much to be grateful for. You should have seen me….. I was grinning all day. Happiness was coming out of my pores.
Day 3 I had a gratitude come down. It wasn’t that I wasn’t happy anymore, it was just that the buzz had worn off. The gratitude I experienced was a softer, more gentle experience. Subtler somehow.
I’m pleased to report that day 4 has been a good one. Despite 4 days of constant rain, very little sunshine (enough to knock the glow off anyone’s happiness), and my childrens’ play dates being cancelled because everyone we know seems to be sick, I’m still feeling grateful. And happy.
And I think it might be contagious. When I photographed friends, and told them it’s because I’m grateful to have them in my life, you should have seen the smiles. And the gratitude they threw back at me was breathtaking!
My friend told me her partner had seen my facebook posts and had started noticing the small things he’s grateful for in their lives. She sounded grateful.
I am grateful, not just for all the beautiful, wonderful, touching things in my life, but for the opportunity to take lots of photographs, to tell people I’m grateful for their presence in my life, to share my photographs with others and to connect with them in a way I wouldn’t otherwise have done.
Yes, I think there really is something to this gratitude thing.
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I am grateful for you, your beautiful family, and your never-ending ability to make me smile x
What a great blog. Studies have shown that complimenting someone or an act of spontaneous kindness can boost both immunity and happiness for up to 24 hours. Sharing what you are grateful for boosted both yours and those you shared it with, happiness. Amazing! The long term effects are incredible when you think that research has shown that going to a movie only boosts happiness for an hour!
I love the idea of doing this for seven days and really exploring how you feel about it. Sometimes projects can have such a long timescale that it is easy to lose focus – but this is short and sweet. Tempted to have a go too !