With Thanksgiving behind us and the December holiday season in front of us, I took a moment to reflect on the things I was grateful for this past November. For each day of November, I challenged myself to write down one different thing. 

Not because I couldn’t be thankful for the same thing twice. Rather, this challenged me to be specific and think more intentionally. Of course I’m going to be thankful for my friends and family daily, but what about a specific friendship am I thankful for? 

Practicing gratitude specifically, invites me into deeper spaces of gratitude and contentment. Which is something I definitely need as the temptations to look for other sources of contentment (ahem all the shopping and material goods or the perfect holiday home setup) come my way. Anyone else? 

What Daily Gratitude Taught Me

I’ll be honest. I did not practice daily gratitude every day of November. Honestly, it was probably more like half of the month. Which feels hard to admit because I’m the one who created the challenge to begin with. I’m not going to even share any excuses because the only thing I have to say is: I did not prioritize it. Even though I knew it would only take a minute or less at the end of a day or at the beginning of the day after. I still chose not to. 

Scrolling was often more interesting to my tired brain. Stressing about the day felt more pertinent. Most anything else.

Yet, the days I did practice gratitude, took the couple moments to slow down and reflect, made a difference. Even better when I chose to write them down too.

It didn’t change the fullness of a day or the busy feeling of the season, but it offered another perspective. Rather than seeing everything only as a dreaded task or an unending tunnel of chaos, I could see in the midst where there were lights of joy and moments of delight. During a day that ran from 5AM to 1AM with nonstop moving, I could still take delight in the fact I was doing work I enjoyed, and didn’t (always) dread. I could still be grateful for a husben that gives me opportunities to try new things and try failure. 

Sleep was still barely a thing. And, I was still very tired and borderline cranky to the extreme the next day. And yet, there was another posture I could step into and take on. I didn’t only have to live out of my cranky.

Your Turn for Daily Gratitude

I challenge you to do the same. Take five to ten minutes now to reflect on the month of November and write down one point of gratitude from each day. I double challenge you to make each point different for each day. I wonder how doing this practice might help posture your heart to something more serene in the upcoming month.

If you’re like me and want an aesthetic way to keep track of your list, download our freebie gratitude list template here.

Once you complete your list, send us a photo (send us a message or a DM) and I’ll give you a little gift of gratitude in return. It might even be a discount on our 2025 Kindred Planner…

Sound good? 

My Daily Gratitude List

So here’s my turn and full list. Because, I suppose if I’m asking you to share your list with me, I might as well share mine too. My daily gratitude list for the month of November 2024:

Cheers to the rest of the holiday season and 2024! Stay tuned for more on how we go from celebration to preparation for the 2025 New Year!