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On this adventure series, we are challenging ourselves with Practicing Gratitude. Those who practice gratitude report feeling better, find it easier to express kindness and compassion and clinical trials have indicated dramatic and lasting effects in a person’s life. According to Robert A. Emmons, professor of psychology at UC Davis, practicing gratitude can lower blood pressure, improve immune function and facilitate more efficient sleep. The benefits of practicing gratitude seem too good to be true. So this month, we are putting it to the test. We will begin this challenge Thursday, March 5th. If you are listening to this later than March 5th, no worries at all! These challenges will always be available for you to engage. If you catch us halfway thru one you are interested in, simply sign up and start your own 21 day challenge. You’ll still enjoy some weekly info from us, or be able to go back and listen to the episodes as you go through the 3 weeks of each challenge. So, how do you join us? That’s easy!  SETUP AN ACCOUNT ON STICKK. It’s free. You’ll setup a profile and commit to our gratitude campaign. This is where you can choose which level you want to participate in. Once you’ve chosen, you can set your stakes..You can put up some money to go to the effective altruism approved Give Well Foundation, our preferred charity, if you miss a day, and set the amount you’re willing to lose each day to help you stick to your goal. You can also lose that money to a friend, foe, to Stickk, or even an anticharity of your choice. We ask that you don’t choose the anticharity, as effective as it might be to help you commit. Stickk is working on an option for us to opt out of that option on our campaigns altogether. Lastly, you can select “no money at stake” to opt out of this option. It’s totally up to you. Next, you can set your referee. This can be “on your honor”, or an individual. This can be a friend, relative, spouse, etc. and you’ll enter their email or if you’re participating in this challenge with someone you live with, consider using each others Stickk username. Finally, you can add supporters who will help cheer you on! (with this challenge, it doesn’t seem super important, but if you were doing something much harder like quitting smoking, this could be an amazing feature and might come in handy if you find our challenges difficult.) You can also auto-accept supporters directly from Stickk, which allows us to support each other with ease. You can also invite friends on Facebook, or through email addresses or stickk usernames. And again, you can skip this altogether if you aren’t in need of external support.That’s it! Stickk will send you a daily reminder via email, phone notification or both, to help you remember to stickk to your commitment! It’s very easy to setup, and it can be as complex or passive as you want it to be. Again, go to Just go to stickK.com/playingwithfire or download the app and our activation code is gratitude (all lowercase).Next, choose your adventure. We will be establishing 3 levels on Stickk in which to participate. We are doing this because we want to standardize the challenge somewhat while acknowledging that everyone feels different levels of participation work for them. There is no right or wrong, this is not a competition. Just choose which level feels right to you. Level 1:Keep a journal every day Level 2: Keep a journal Post your gratitude on social daily Smile before every meal Level 3: Keep a journal Post on social daily Smile before every meal Write a letter to a friend, loved one, co-worker, barista every day and deliver. Create a Gratitude Station in your home.  Join our EMAIL LIST via our website so you don’t miss the challenge steps. Join our FACEBOOK GROUP so we can all learn from each other as we go along. And follow us on the socials, specifically INSTAGRAM, where we plan to share our progress every day of every challenge and hope you will too. What you'll need to participate:So, obviously, you'll want to sign up for all the previously mentioned apps and socials and such. It's not mandatory, but it's proven to be more effective in helping you stick to this challenge. The one thing you will need regardless of the level you choose is a gratitude journal. Obviously you can pick up a blank notebook, use your phone or computer, however you like to jot things down. We really like the 5-minute journal, which has built-in prompt questions for morning and night, feels like the right size and weight for daily use and travel and even feels nice. Totally unnecessary, but quite delightful. You may also want to make sure you have paper and envelopes in the house if you choose to participate in Level 2-3. Finally, the Gratitude Station can be as simple as a jar in a designated area of your home. You’ll document gratitude and add it to this jar or vessel. Gratitude Prompts:-Someone you are grateful for and why.-Describe a food you love.-The best vacation you've been on.-What is a recent purchase that has added value to your life?-Describe your favorite sound.-Someone who inspired you.-A book that changed the way you see the world.-Name someone that makes you smile.-What's the best thing that happened today?-Who makes you feel loved and why?-A place that calms you.-Something you've created that you are proud of.-Your favorite food.-The last person to make you laugh.-An activity you love.-What's your favorite type of weather and why?-Name something that makes you happy.-Who was the last person to compliment you?-Name the best thing(s) that have happened to you.-Whats your favorite place to relax?-What's your favorite thing to do?-Who do you love spending time with?-How is your life more positive today than it was a year ago?-What do other people like about you?-When was the last time you had a genuine belly laugh and why was it so funny?Also, something we uncovered in our research was acknowledging Gratitude Blockers. Basically, it’s ok to acknowledge negative aspects of your life that are getting in the way of your happiness, of you being grateful. Living with anxiety and fear, complaining, feeling entitled, being critical of yourself or others, being cynical, these are all bad habits that will get in the way of your ability to feel and accept gratitude. And in our journaling, you can write down an acknowledgment of these thoughts or feelings and your plans to rectify these blockers! This is another reason I like the 5 min journal. It poses the question, “What would make today great?” In some form, this forces you to acknowledge what is and IS NOT possible to accomplish that day. It forces perspective on what’s great and what’s getting in the way. Framing these elements of your life around gratitude will improve your day, improve your mood and even the way you handle the obstacles. Next up, create a social media post sharing your answers to these gratitude prompts. Let’s spread this positivity! Use the #playingwithfire or post in our group so we can all enjoy these together.That’s it! Most people won’t need a thing to participate, but you may want to get crafty so we will leave it to you! We want to see what you plan to use, your gratitude station, and what you are grateful for! So, we ask you tag us and use the hashtag #playingwithfire when posting!