“And suddenly you just know it’s time to start something new and trust the magic of beginning”

Author Unknown

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Oh the beginning of a new month! There is so much hope, so much promise, so much opportunity. The month of November brings, not only a refreshed since of hope and possibility as the holidays draw closer, but it also brings cooler weather, fires in the fireplace, hot soups, and a special focus on family and giving. While October is my favorite month, because of the changing leaves and it’s my birthday month (Oct 13th so you can mark your calendar for next year! hehehe), November does come close to the top for me.

When I woke up this morning, there was a new sense of excitement. The first thing my oldest daughter said to me today was, “guess what today is…. the start of Christmas music”. She knows I boycott anything Thanksgiving/Christmas related until November 1st, but once that magical date happens it’s anyones game! SiriusXM Holiday station get’s put on the FAVORITE list in the car!

But, the BEST reason for November is the chance to be grateful for all the things around you. I know that line sounded pretty cheesy, or was that just me, but seriously, stop and thing about it. When in the entire year, is everyone around you actively thinking about and talking about all the things they are grateful for? I love that people are taking the time to reflect on their day, especially if they are participating in a gratitude challenge. What is a gratitude challenge? It’s simply writing down something you’re grateful for right before going to bed at night. It could be something simple, like comfy sheets, or something more complex and detailed.

I started writing down 5 things I’m grateful for back in 2020, to really help cope during the pandemic and lockdown. I got in the habit of doing it every day and I found I was a much happy person. I’ve used various tools to help write down my gratitudes. Here are a couple of tools I’ve used to write down my gratitudes.

• Lined paper and pen
• GoodNotes on my iPad
• Rachel Hollis’s Start Today Journal – Check it out here!
• My favorite spiral bound journal from EOOUT! – Grab a pack of 3 on my Amazon link here.

Regardless of the tool you use to start writing down your daily gratitudes, I encourage you to just start. I found just doing it one time made all of the difference.

Let me know in the comments what you are grateful for!

Cheers to a great November!