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In your Composition Books List 5 things (big or little) that you are grateful for? And why?

The Gratitude Challenge For the month of January, we will be developing the habit of living in gratitude daily.

Define Gratitude The word Gratitude is from the late Middle English language during the ’s. Gratitude means the state of being grateful; a feeling of thankfulness and appreciation.

Gratitude When someone expresses thankfulness, it not only impacts the receiver, but it also has benefits for the one giving thanks. Recognizing the blessings in your life and acting upon them regularly increases your awareness and appreciation. Sharing your gratitude improves your quality of life because it can only result in positive emotions. Learning to appreciate what you have also makes life more valuable and meaningful.

The Assignment You will create a Gratitude Challenge journal. The journal will contain responses to different assignments as well as your reactions to the different assignments You will also write and send a minimum of 12 Thank You cards. This assignment will last the month of January. Your Gratitude Challenge journal will be due February 1, 2013

Journal Writing You will choose 4 of the following options to be completed in your Gratitude Challenge journal. 1.Take a picture of one thing, person, place or specific moment that makes you feel grateful. 2. Today, make the effort to live with a positive outlook. Restrain from criticizing the people around you. Dare to see the glass as half full. Listen more than you speak. Give freely of yourself. Practice kindness at every opportunity. At the end of the day write down the outcome from what you practice and what you learned about yourself.

Journal Writing 3. Write a Thank You note to yourself. Thank yourself for taking the time to stop and focus on all the little things for which you feel grateful. 4. Chose 5 quotes that talk about gratitude. Write each quote in your journal and explain the meaning of each and why you choose each quote.

Journal Writing 5. Write a note of gratitude to someone who has died, a relative or a friend. Even though you can’t send it, you can write it and then release it to the air, sending your feelings of gratitude out. 6. Make a list of 100 wonderful things about you. What do you like about you? What are your strengths? Your accomplishments? Your gifts? What do other people complement you on? What are you great at? What's good about you? Also list the attributes of your sacredness, of your true self, of your unlimited beingness. Let this list capture what's best and most true about you. Read the list every day for a week. Did it have an effect on you? Explain.

Journal Writing 7. Write a poem using one of these topics: (1) With gratefulness or (2) involving multiple characters saying “Thank you” to each other. 8. Write a story where each character needs to say thank you to someone for something. The entire story should revolve around each character’s journey to express their gratitude for something.

9. Write a story about someone who is unable to express gratitude towards anyone. 10. List 5 people in your life who are difficult to get along with. For each of those people, write a list of 3-10 qualities for which you’re grateful. Be sure to tell them how you feel. In your journal add how they reacted.

Thank You Notes Each week you will need to write a minimum of 3 Thank You Notes. It may be as simple as writing a thank you for a gift. Although the notes that will be appreciated the most are the ones that are not expected. So try and select people who deserve a little recognition but may not get it.

How to Write a Thank You Note 1. Should be hand written 2. Address the recipient as Dear Then open the letter by thanking them for the gift, hospitality or kindness offered. 4. Your second sentence or paragraph should give some indication of your enjoyment or use of the gift.

5. Some people like to go on to share a little news, especially if they have been out of touch with the recipient for a while. Some etiquette experts, though, suggest that the thank you note should purely be about the recipient’s kindness, not about your own life. I believe that in a personal context, it’s fine to share your news. 6. A good closing sentence or paragraph is one which looks forward to seeing or speaking to the recipient – especially if a reunion or holiday is coming up. Mentioning “thank you ” again is a good idea, to emphasize the point of the letter.

7. You should not end with “yours sincerely” but with a less formal phrase; “love” or “love from” is often appropriate for relatives, or “best wishes”, “warmest wishes” or even “thanks again”.

Example September 1, 2005 Dear Katherine, Thank you so much for the wonderful book about nineteenth-century architecture of Long Island that you sent me. Not only was it the perfect present (I haven’t been able to put it down!) but it will certainly come in handy for my studies. You always pick the perfect thing! Again, thanks so much, and I’ll talk to you soon. Love, Bitsy from the Etiquette Grrls’ book More Things You Need to Be Told (p56):Etiquette GrrlsMore Things You Need to Be Told

First page of your journal The Gratitude Pledge With a hopeful outlook, I, ______________________, promise to fulfill the terms of The Gratitude Challenge. For the month of January, I pledge to complete the gratitude activities, including writing journal entries, taking photos and connecting with friends. I promise to take note of life’s little blessings and to give thanks for the relationships, experiences and opportunities that make my life unique. From this day forward, I commit to living on the brighter side of life. Signature_________________ Date___________