I know I know… it’s JANUARY. Why am I writing about October’s challenge? Well, as you are all aware, sometimes life just gets in the way. As things sped up towards the end of 2018 with the holidays and whatnot, I pushed these mindfulness challenge blog post recaps to the back burner. (One of my goals for 2019 is to plan ahead so this doesn’t happen… I don’t want my blog to suffer when I’m busy)!
But of course, being the perfectionist that I am, I still had to write something up to document what we all learned.
October’s Mindfulness Challenge was to be intentional in noticing the small things. The idea for this one came from my friend Meghan Young, an outdoor/adventure blogger located here in Seattle. So often we’re too caught up in our ever day routine that we neglect the little things that make life what it is.
I wanted us to focus on staying present so that we were more able to observe these things… a pretty tree, witnessing an act of kindness, yummy smells in the air, etc. Another aspect of the challenge was to find opportunities to do small things for other people – holding the door, giving genuine compliments, buying your loved ones flowers, sending a card… whatever!
The Benefits
Greater sense of appreciation.
When we’re aware of the small moments in life, we’re automatically more prone to appreciate them. Appreciation leads to gratitude and gratitude has been proven to increase contentment.
Enrichment of day to day life.
It is so easy to just go through our days mindlessly completing tasks, going to work, making/eating food, etc. without really slowing down. When we do slow down and become more present and observant, it enriches our life because our eyes are increasingly open to our surroundings. The dullness fades and beauty makes itself more apparent.
Kindness = Happiness.
Funnily enough, when we express kindness towards others in the form of small gestures, we also reap the benefits. It feels good to treat others right. Think about when you give someone a thoughtful gift – sometimes this is even better than receiving one.
Thank you so much for reading, and thanks to everyone who took part in this challenge! I love the image at the top of the post – it’s a collage I made from the ‘little things’ you guys told me you were thankful for through Instagram DM. So good!
XO Sorelle