My 2008 Resolution - Join Me

As a social worker in a homeless shelter, you’d think I would be more thankful…

As the mother of three healthy children, you’d think I would be more thankful…

So many reasons for me to be grateful, but I often feel deprived instead.  As I drive my 1994 Corolla with 313,000 miles, I wish for more.  As I search for something to wear before work, I wish for more.  As I think about planning a vacation to the ocean, I wish for more. 

I once kept a gratitude journal for a period of months, and it was wonderful.  It was the Simple Abundance Journal of Gratitude by  Sarah Ban Breathnach, that basically asked you to write down five things you were thankful for each day.  I sat down before bed most nights and ran back through my day picking out the best parts.  It was a nice way to reframe my days.

So, to help adjust my attitude this coming year, I’ve decided to make my 2008 New Years Resolution be to write 365 Thank You notes in 365 days.  Certainly that will focus my gratitude - it will help me understand all that I have.  I am hoping the process will be transforming and I plan to share it with my children, and on this blog.

Odds of Sucess:

I am sure there are statistics available that site how very few resolutions are ever kept.  Fortunately, mine is not to lose weight or to quit smoking.  Plus, I have had resolution sucess in the past - I once went an entire year without shopping at Walmart (well - just about.) 

Again, I am hoping the process of giving thanks will be more important than the product part of this resolution, so that at the end of the year, if I am only at 325 thank you notes, it will still have been a sucess. That said, I will still do my best to write one thank you note a day - 365 in 2008! 

Sharing & Joining

Additionally, my plan is to blog about how writing so many thank you notes is affecting me.  Will I become burned out? Will I run out of people to thank?  How will it make a difference? Will my knuckles get nobby from all the handwriting? Do I even know 365 people?

And finally, I would like to challenge you to join me.  Resolve to Write 365 thank you notes or Resolve to Write 100 (resolution-lite) - share your progress, too.  Or, simply watch, give suggestions, and help hold me accountable.

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