Posted on November 19, 2013 by Cynthia Gunsinger

image via sherbet blossom

There are lots of reasons to feel grateful in November. Veteran’s Day, Remembrance Day, and the big day itself: Thanksgiving. These holidays and more have given way to a sea of gratitude projects sweeping the interwebs and beyond in the month of November.

Tiny Prints and Co. instigated a Gratitude Challenge as a social experiment in 2009 with the simple action: express your gratitude every day for 30 days. More recently, Kindspring promoted an easy-to-do 21 day gratitude challenge that has almost 12,000 participants saying thanks in accordance with their fountain of gratitude ideas and daily prompts. Wowee!

We love this wave of gratitude! Here’s why it’s important:

One of the greatest contributing factors to overall happiness in your life is how much gratitude you show, according to a 2004 study (check out Soul Pancake’s video synopsis).

Especially important to us is that gratitude has the biggest impact on the least happy people. Meaning that if you are unhappy in your career or feel like you don’t make enough money, like a lot of our clients do, you can be happier and more effective making changes if you stop to express thanks for what do have in those areas first. [Tweet this insight!]

Beyond the significant impact that expressing gratitude has on you and your ‘thank-ees’, the sea of gratitude projects has rippled outward, causing some very cool things to happen.

5 Surprising Results From 21 Days of Gratitude

1. Parents are finding new ways to parent

Using the November gratitude challenge, parents are finding new ways to understand and relate to their kids. For example, Kristina over at Toddler Approved is grateful for parenting challenges which help her grow as a mother and learn more about who she really is. Speaking of connecting with your kids, will your family celebrate Dinovember? So creative.

2. People are loving the unlovable

You don’t usually hear the good stories about insurance companies. But thanks to her dedicated efforts of expressing gratitude, Lindsay Leigh Bentley shared her roller-coaster experience with what she calls the “kindest, simplest, most pleasant ‘insurance’ option I have ever dealt with”.

3. Artists are making beautiful gratitude-inspired things

Using gratitude for inspiration, artists, photographers and writers are creating their own challenges that connect to their passions. For example, Katrina Kennedy from CaptureYour365 has created the November {gratitude} Photo Challenge. Bringing us to Number 4…

4. Communities are forming around gratitude

Every person can become a gratitude photographer using the hashtag #gratitude30 on instagram, create a Pinterest board, start or join a Facebook gratitude group. The application-making community is jumping in with tools to journal, track and challenge your gratitude.

5. Healthy perspective shifts are happening

What if you moved away from the perfect body and diet culture, and used thankfulness to shift your perspectives on physical, mental and spiritual health? It’s awesome to see a gratitude spin on health.

Finally, we were all very grateful to see an entire city use their imagination to create a dream-come-true for a sick kid. While there is only one bat-kid, a whole lot of superheroes created a heart-melting experience for the whole world.

What are you grateful for? What amazing ways have you seen gratitude be expressed?

Please share your finds and links in the comments below!