“Energy and persistence conquer all things.” – Benjamin Franklin

Two years ago I had the chance to participate in a 40 days of gratitude with a handful of my friends. A spiritual center in Phoenix, but together a booklet filled with a question for each day. My friend was extremely excited about it, and his enthusiasm was such that I thought I would get in on the action. The results were amazing due to writing about something I was thankful to have in my life for 40 days it gave me a whole new way to look at each day. In less than a week of this experiment I caught myself looking for things to write about at the end of the day. It seemed as though each day took a little less energy, but the amount I was writing began to grow. The nights that I did not want to write anything I would still crack open the booklet to at least write one thing from the question that day.

As I look back on those last two years the experience that manifested around Thanksgiving was so much greater than I could remember in years past.   All too often the holidays would seem like more of a chore and before the “special day” was over I would be drained and exhausted missing out on the spirit of the holiday completely.   This 40 days of gratitude kept the focus of Thanksgiving in the front of my head and really showed me how everyday was a day to give thanks.

This practice has continued on for the past two years. Today when I look at my day, I always end with 3 things that I am grateful for. Talking to that same friend today, he suggested we create a Change Your Life Friday 40 days of gratitude leading up to Thanksgiving. Starting a week from tomorrow, we will be posting a gratitude question on the site. Each day you can check out what that question is and post here in the comment section or just write it down for your own journal. We are also asking over the next week for our readers to submit questions they would like to see included in the 40.

Affirmation: I am grateful for this moment, in this moment I am grateful.

Call To Action: Please post one thing you are currently grateful for in your day, and include a question that you like to see included in our 40 days of gratitude.  This 40 days of gratitude could really inspire our community and the people around us.  Take some time and think how you can help others find a little more thanks in their days.

“I like people who shake other people up and make them feel uncomfortable.” – Jim Morrison

I recently started taking classes at a new school. I don’t know a soul in any of my classes. I feel uncomfortable around strangers and I do not like meeting new people. I find there is a level of insecurity within me; hopefully I don’t come off as desperate, or lonely, or a nerd, or a jerk.  I know there are many other kids in classes that are new and feel the same way.  My least favorite thing to do is eat lunch alone. All the people sitting by themselves have their smart phones, tablets, and laptops out. It is a great way to mask loneliness by acting as if you’re busy or to important to make small talk with strangers.

I force myself to meet the people who sit in proximity with me. As we approach the halfway point of the semester I realize the benefits of forcing myself out of my comfort zone. Before one of my classes yesterday I was talking with a group of students that comprised of three rows. Approximately ten students in the conversation and even though I do not know all of their names or have formally met them we have a familiarity with each other.  I have exchanged numbers with a few classmates to discuss homework and help each other out studying for mid terms. In the sea of lonely people we have started to create bonds.

As I write this, I am sitting on a patio of a restaurant. I realize that school is the easiest place to meet people and make friends, but pushing yourself out of your comfort zone to meet people can happen anywhere.  When I was trying to find a seat on this patio, there were no open tables. I could have stood around and waited for one to open or taken my food, left the restaurant, and sat at a park bench (as I usually do). I scanned the patio and found someone sitting alone and asked to sit down. I made small talk, exchanged pleasantries, and got on with this writing. When my table companion left I sat and wrote alone for a few minutes. I was hoping that someone else would be brave and sit down before I finished and they did. A couple sat and shared the table with me.  It is not like we are going to exchange numbers and hang out later because we shared a table, but at least I did not eat alone.

Affirmation: The unfamiliar and different is where I grow the most. I evolve in those times that something is new to me.

Call to Action: Share something you did today that felt uncomfortable, and was something new to you. It can be something big or small, but please share it with the CYLF community.