5 takeaways from my 25 Days of #SOMETHINGGOOD Challenge

Life Is Good is celebrating 25 years of spreading the power of optimism, and they recently launched the 25 Days of #SOMETHINGGOOD challenge to inspire 1 million people to draw, write, create, say, or do #SOMETHINGGOOD for 25 days.

As a lifelong fan and ambassador of Life is Good, I couldn’t wait to take part in the celebration. So, I decided not only to do the challenge, but encourage my audience to join me by sharing #SOMETHINGGOOD daily. To personalize my challenge, I focused my journal entries on 25 days of “me time”, which I struggle with as a mom of a toddler and a one-year-old.

Here are my five takeaways:

1. DO WHAT YOU LOVE. LOVE WHAT YOU DO.

I realized that there’s always time to do what you REALLY want to do. I love journaling, but I felt like I didn’t have time for it. But once I took on this challenge, I was determined to make it happen. So regardless of how busy I was, I figured out a way to not only journal, but carve out time for myself too. Some days it was only 15 minutes of nap time or 10 minutes of stretching, but I managed to schedule an hour of “me time” into my busy schedule to jog, check out a cute café, or just to sit by the lake and reflect. The takeaway is that if something is important, you’’ll make time.

2. BYE, NEGATIVITY

Sadly, I noticed how negative thoughts affected my day. Usually just sweating the small things like traffic, feeling impatient at the checkout line, worrying while lying in bed, etc. However, once I started journaling I found myself focusing on and looking for #SOMETHINGGOOD throughout the day. And since what you focus on grows, I noticed that there were plenty of good things happening in my life, I looked for them.

3. KEEP IT SIMPLE

I also felt happier and more productive when I fulfilled my scheduled “me time” and documented it in my journal before bed. The simple act of writing what I was grateful for made me feel even more grateful. For the first few days, it felt like another item on my to-do list, but eventually, I looked forward to it. During the challenge, I visited three new cafés, discovered two new hiking trails, and set up coffee and brunch dates with five women in my extended circle.

4. DON’T SWEAT THE SMALL STUFF

Making time for myself and journaling daily helped me put life in perspective and lower my anxiety. I found the silver lining in almost everything that happened — even the bad stuff. I truly felt calmer and didn’t sweat the small stuff as much. I noticed that I walked slower, ate slower, and didn’t feel as rushed and stressed, especially in the morning.

5. LOOK FORWARD

My daily #SOMETHINGGOOD was usually something I was grateful for. But sometimes things felt repetitive, or like I didn’t have enough opportunities to be grateful. So, I decided to get a little creative by showing gratitude for things that didn’t happen yet. For instance – getting a new client, an amazing dinner date with the hubby on Friday, etc. I spent time writing about how thankful I felt for moments that hadn’t happened yet, and it felt real! This was one of the most powerful moments of this challenge! It made me feel hopeful and excited about the future.

I LOVED this challenge so much that I’ve decided to keep it going throughout May.

Have you taken the 25 Days of #SOMETHINGGOOD Challenge? What did you learn or like? If you haven’t, what is #SOMETHINGGOOD you’re doing for yourself today? Share your #SOMETHINGGOOD to not just inspire others, but to help a worthy cause as well. Each moment shared goes toward raising funds for the Life is Good Kids Foundation.