"There’s no way around it: It’s a hard year. Turning on the news is terrifying, the job market is bleak, and burnout is real. As we move into the colder months, less sunlight and cloudy weather means less energy and worse moods. I think what we all need right now (besides scheduling some really good weekly therapy sessions) is gratitude. While gratitude may sound cliche, it’s actually an extremely powerful tool.
Research (such as studies done by UCLA’s Mindfulness Awareness Research Center) shows that gratitude changes the brain’s molecular structure, resulting in greater happiness. In addition to increasing happiness, it can also reduce anxiety and stress. Gratitude and anxiety cannot be felt at the same time because the brain can only respond to one of the emotional states. Gratitude and anxiety cannot coexist; when you feel gratitude, your anxiety and stress levels lower. Real gratitude is not a superficial self-care or journaling trend; it’s a superpower. And right now is the perfect season to tap into it. It’s called Thanksgiving for a reason; maybe this time of year is when we need to feel thankful the most.
But BTW, gratitude is not about toxic positivity or foregoing goals; you can feel gratitude for the glass half-full while being intentionally aware of the empty space, too. Gratitude is a lens through which we see the world, a permanent state of being. So I’ve put together a month-long challenge that contains content to consume or activities to try for every single day through November. The goal? To end the month feeling more mindful, connected, and so much happier in your life.
Week 1: Tap Into Abundance Mindset
1. Your life doesn’t have to be perfect to feel gratitude—gratitude is something you build like a muscle. Make a list of as many specific reasons you can think of to be in love with your life.
2. Start a “Good Things List” and add to it every day this week (or month).
3. Read “Life-Changing Tips From an Abundance Coach.”
4. Make a “gratitude board,” which is a vision board, except with all images from your current life of the things that you already have.
5. Listen to “Thriving Instead of Surviving with Brandi Sellerz-Jackson.”
6. Tap into “Lucky Girl Syndrome” today.
7. Think about one thing you weren’t grateful for when it happened (getting laid off from a job, a breakup, a hard conversation with a loved one?) and think about how it unexpectedly benefited you. It’s crucial we don’t just practice gratitude for the obvious good thing; we feel true gratitude when we practice it for everything.
“Appreciate everything, even the ordinary. Especially the ordinary.” – Pema Chödrön
Week 2: Feel Gratitude for Yourself
8. Journal from the point of view of your younger self, who always wanted what you have now—what would they think if they could see the life you have?
9. Pick one (or a few) of these self-love affirmations to write on a Post-It or recite to yourself throughout the week.
10. Read “How I Finally Achieved Radical Self-Love, and You Can Too.”
11. Make a list of your favorite qualities: all the things you love about yourself (even if you have to dig deep!).
12. Listen to the new episode of The Everygirl Podcast with Tower 28 Founder, Amy Liu, and then reflect on your own career journey: Even if you’re not in your “dream job” (who is!?), make a list of all the skills, experience, or hard work you put into your career.
13. Write a letter to your future self who has everything you want, thanking them for the life they have worked so hard for.
14. Do something for yourself today because you deserve it: watch your favorite movie, cook your favorite meal, treat yourself to a massage or coffee out, as a way to say “thank you.”
“Appreciation is a wonderful thing. It makes what is excellent in others belong to us as well.” – Voltaire
Week 3: Feel Gratitude for Community
15. Make a list of the top five people (pets count!) who make the biggest impact on your daily happiness. Visualize how different your life would be without them in order to feel full gratitude for what they bring to your life.
16. To tap into gratitude for your friendships, listen to this episode with Lori Harder; to tap into gratitude for family, listen to this episode with Vienna Pharaon.
17. Send an old-school “Thank you” note to someone who deserves it.
18. Offer gratitude during a normal conversation (add a “thank you” in an email to your coworker, offer appreciation to your partner while you’re watching TV, or say “BTW, I want to thank you for being there for me…” when texting with your friend).
19. Listen to the new episode of The Everygirl Podcast with psychologist Dr. Elisabeth Crain and then reflect on your chosen family—the people related to you or not who support and love you.
20. Brainstorm ways to express gratitude to your people that do not require words: Bring a coffee for your work wife, take care of your significant other’s chores for the day, host a wine night for your girls.
21. Say “thank you” to someone not in your immediate circle: the barista who greets you with a smile every morning, the new friend you’ve just gotten to know, the coworker who compliments your presentations.
“Be thankful for what you have; you’ll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don’t have, you will never, ever have enough.” – Oprah Winfrey
Week 4: Feel Gratitude for Your Body
22. Listen to “How to Actually Improve Your Body Image, With Sarah Nicole Landry (The Birds Papaya).”
23. Make a list of all the things you are grateful your body does for you or the experiences it has given you (laughing with your friend, going for a morning run, enjoying a delicious meal).
24. Choose one meal of the day and give thanks for the fuel your body is about to receive or your access to food to eat.
25. Pick a gratitude affirmation that you need this holiday season.
26. Listen to the new episode of The Everygirl Podcast with Dr. Stacie J. Stephenson, and pick one recommendation from the episode to treat your body today.
27. Read “Why You Don’t Need a Thanksgiving Detox, and How to Care for Your Body Instead.”
28. Happy Thanksgiving! Bring the feeling of gratitude you have tapped into all month throughout the entire day.
“It’s up to us to choose contentment and thankfulness now, and to stop imagining that we have to have everything perfect before we’ll be happy.” – Joanna Gaines
Week 5: Establish Gratitude as a Habit
29. Go on a complaint cleanse (think of it as a “Gratitude Edit”).
30. Make a list of everything you did, learned about, or practiced over the past month that made the biggest difference for you, and then make a plan to implement it into your life regularly.
Josie Santi, Senior Wellness Editor & Podcast Host
Josie has been an editor and writer for The Everygirl since 2017 and became a certified Holistic Health Coach in 2020. As the Senior Wellness Editor, she oversees, writes, and edits wellness content, and interviews the industry’s leading experts. Listen to Josie on The Everygirl Podcast.
