Worldwide Gratitude Project Takes Off

In these economic times, it seems like everybody could use a little more happiness in their lives.  And with holiday season around the corner, stress levels appear to be increasing even more than usual.  How does one combat these holiday blues and financial woes?  Well a group of people in Michigan, the state hit hardest by the factory closings of the auto industry, decided to do something about the current state of the world by creating the 30DaysofGratitude project. This is a web-based community experiment running November 1^st through November 30^th complete with intentions of spreading the positive effects of gratitude throughout the world. 

The idea for the project stems from scientific findings that concluded people who focused on appreciation and gratitude were considerably happier, less likely to complain about physical ailments, and more likely to exercise. Gratitude can also positively impact people’s energy, health, and life satisfaction.  Who knew that Thanksgiving could serve a positive mental health function? 

So if you are sitting anxiously on the edge of your seat wondering, well how do I get involved?!  The first step is to go to http://www.30daysofgratitude.org/ and register.  Then starting November 1^st you will receive e-mail themed prompts reminding you to submit your gratitudes, either daily or weekly depending on the program you choose.  There are a few different options when joining; you can join as a family and submit your gratitudes under one name, or you can join individually and search and archive personal friend’s gratitudes.  And we are especially encouraging a techno-savvy person to partner with someone who is not connected to the Internet (i.e. grandparent and grandchild). 

When asked the purpose of this project, head founder Annie Zirkel said, “Gratitude has the power to change your life, this project is about putting all the energy in one place.”  And the energy is growing.  People are signing up everyday from all over the world.  So jump on board, for a month of inspiration, happiness, and looking at the bright side of life for a change!

This entry was posted on Thursday, October 15th, 2009 at 10:41 am and is filed under Gratitude In Action. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.