21-day gratitude challenge

What helps me and my relationship get through the pandemic in 2020?

At the start of the pandemic, I didn’t feel its impact on my life just yet. I ate, slept, socialized, and studied as nothing happened. Even though I stayed at home and communicated through a screen, I didn’t feel unhappy or annoyed at the fact. I guessed it was mainly because I was an introvert, I didn’t enjoy going out and socializing that much. However, my boyfriend, an extrovert, was feeling super depressed at that time. We were in an LDR, it was hard not being able to meet each other for a whole year. In an attempt to save our relationship from dying, I browsed the internet for any possible remedy to my situation. At that time, there were already plenty of pages talking about the pandemic consequences and solutions, including mental health issues. Besides, I was learning and practicing self-love and the law of attraction so I found gratitude was so positive that it could be a life-changing factor to improve my bf’s mental health as well as mine.

So, what could you do with gratitude and how could it help to improve your mental health?

You can start a 21-day gratitude challenge by yourself or with someone else (your friends, family, lover). The challenge is about finding little things in life to be grateful for as a day passes by. Even if you are stressed, depressed, bored,…gratitude can spark a light in your heart and connect you to important people in your life. In other words, when you commit an action to express your gratitude toward sth or sb, you are not only doing yourself justice but also helping others to feel valued and loved. Negativity and positivity are two sides of the same coin, how you turn it is up to you.

My bf and I did the challenge by recording every single task in a shared journal. We kept track of each other progress each day so that no one missed a day of the challenge. Being able to read the other’s performance was fun and inspiring. We became mental health buddies who encouraged one another during the pandemic. As a result, our relationship was strengthened and my bf even suggested prolonging the challenge after 21 days by making up more tasks himself.

Why is the gratitude challenge 21 days?

Some of you must be wondering why the challenge has a specific number of days. Well, common wisdom is that a habit is built in 21 days. Commitment is important, after 21 days, you will have a new habit to incorporate into your daily routine. I hope gratitude can become a part of your identity and make you happier each day.

This post is inspired by Tiny Prints: http://gratitudechallenge.com/downloads/gratitude-calendar.pdf