I just wrapped up a personal challenge to post something I am grateful for every day for the month of March. I called it March of Gratitude because, you know, hashtags.

If you didn’t see it, the posts are on my social profiles (primarily on LinkedIn) and I added them on the blog here as well.

To be honest, I had no idea how this would go.  I just wanted to shed some light in a positive direction in a world marred with negative news, politics, events, and, frankly, some crappy luck in our family life.  I found myself focusing on all of the bad or negative things that were happening in my life and gliding right past all of the great and wonderful things that were happening.  Plus, I couldn’t live in the moment because my blood pressure was spiking when I remembered someone said something in a meeting that irked me early that day.

Let’s face it, we are bombarded with negative energy nearly everywhere we go.  Our phones and TVs show us the worst things that happen across the country and planet on the news and our social media feeds are full of people complaining about something (probably the news).  Even when it isn’t overtly negative, we’re driven to negativity with robocalls, unwanted pop-up ads, and a constant barrage of marketing that tries to make us feel lacking so we buy the product or service being hocked. Perhaps you are like me and couldn’t let go of the negativity.

So I set out to be intentional in my quest for gratitude. I’m glad I did.

After 31 days of seeking out things that made me grateful, here’s what I gained:

• Genuine gratitude beyond the silver linings. 
• I’m not an unrealistic optimist (perhaps not even an optimist), but I am able to find the good in many types of situations.  I’m also able to appreciate what I would have otherwise considered mundane or fully taken for granted.  I say thank you more often and notice things that are worthy of appreciation (like my wife doing things for me!) that I never would have before.  That last part alone made this project worth it!
• A habit of writing consistently  
• I am a fairly prolific writer – one has to be at a director level in sales and marketing (when I last checked, my Grammarly stats showed I wrote more words than 95% of other users).  I may write a ton of emails and have significant communications skills, but this challenge forced me to write about something meaningful every day.  That’s not something I’ve ever had to do.  Getting in the habit of writing about something of substance every day is not only a productive habit but will also serve me well as I move forward in business and personal branding.
• Social credibility
• I’ve never posted on social media for 31 days in a row, not even for corporate content (that I can remember).  The social credibility (and momentum), especially on LinkedIn, has been much more than I ever could imagine. 
• Proof of concept for posting goals publicly
• I posted the initial commitment on social media and in advance because I wanted the social pressure.  I didn’t expect others to share that initial post, but I’m glad they did because it further reinforced that pressure.  There were days when I didn’t have anything to say (which is false) and struggled to get something on the “page,” but the pressure of missing my commitment was too great.  Every day I met my commitment – hell or high water.
• Confidence in myself
• I’ve nearly written something on social media and deleted it hundreds of times because I let the fear set in in the form of “who cares what I have to say.”  I started a personal blog years ago and stopped for the same reason.  Writing and putting myself out there every day has built up the thick skin needed to keep going.  Are there people who don’t care about what I have to say?  Of course.  But if one person gains something, it’s more than worth it.

All in, I’m happy that I did it.  It’s probably something I’ll continue every year, if not more often throughout the year.

What are you grateful for?