30 days that altered my life...

Last year, I created a 30 day interactive online event. 

Mainly out of curiosity to see what would happen...a little bit of an experiment if you like.

Also as a way to add some positive news to social media feeds and as something useful to help boost peoples emotional states (including my own). 

What happened blew me away. I was AMAZED by the level of interaction, response and effect this experiment had on both myself and others.

I first invited a few dear friends to join me in 30 days of thanks, starting with a post that I would add each day about something I was grateful for in life, followed by posts from whoever wished to add their own messages of thanks. By the end of the event, over 81 people from around the world had joined and were participating with their messages of thanks in 4 different languages...even friends of friends joined in, some of which I had never met!

It has been shown in many studies how thoughts and  actions of gratitude can have a huge impact on our mental, emotional and physical well being. Yet so many of us forget to acknowledge this in our day to day lives.

It is all too common to focus on what we don't want, what we are missing, how other people 'have it better than us', they are 'luckier'. However by doing so we are literally programming our brains and unconscious mind to create more of what we don't want in life. 

Our Reticular Activating System (part of the brain related to goal setting) doesn't know the difference between good and bad, real and imaginary. When we think other people are 'luckier' than us, it's as if someone has written onto our forehead saying 'I don't deserve anything nice...don't give me anything'...and you know what? We are the one creating this self fulfilling prophecy!

By shifting the balance and acknowledging what we have right now, we are essentially sticking a sign on top of our heads saying 'open to receiving more of the good stuff, bring it on!' which in turn affects how people relate to us and what we experience in life.

So how did this alter my life? Not only did I notice a huge positive shift in my emotional state, feeling more optimistic, happier and connected both during the event and after. I also started to include this in my daily life and have done since that event. I now continue making a note whenever I feel grateful for something. 

I also keep a reminder on my phone...pops up every now and again to bring me back to a state of love and compassion if ever I have drifted away with worries and fears. It's become more of a habit and I intend to keep it that way...a healthy, happy habit which makes life oh so more enjoyable. 

And don't take my word for it, try it yourself!

Here below is a little snippet of what thanks messages were posted during the experiment, as you can see privacy has been protected. I invite you to post in the comments below, what are you most grateful for right now and why? No matter how big or small.

And to boost your level of happiness even more, why not challenge yourself to a 30 days of thanks starting from today? 

I wonder how even more wonderful you could feel? ;-)

For more information, FREE podcast audios, FREE gifts, FREE online community and more check out my website at www.emmabradford.net