Grateful November
🙏🏻 Let's focus on being grateful this month — together
Welcome to November. I want to try something new with you this year. Let’s focus on being grateful this month — together. Thirty days. Thirty opportunities to be present, to be intentional, and to be grateful.
The idea occurred to me a few weeks ago and I’ve been excited for today, November 1, to arrive so I could launch this with you.
What exactly is the idea, you ask? Good question.
Grateful November in Community
Quite simply, I would like to encourage each of us — all of us — to create a shared gratitude journal of sorts for the next 30 days. We have readers across the United States and around the world and it would be enlightening for us to hear from each other. Together, we can offer each other accountability, encouragement, celebration and support during this season of gratitude.
Are you with me? Here’s how to join in three quick steps.
How to participate
Join our community chat in the Substack app or on the web.1
Share something you are grateful for each day on the Grateful November post.
Engage with each other.
I look forward to seeing you in the community chat this month!
If you’re not sold yet, please keep reading.
Benefits of gratitude
Being grateful is good for you. Joshua Becker at Becoming Minimalist has collected a list of the many benefits of gratitude with source links, which I’m including here for reference:
Gratitude offers numerous mental and physical health benefits. Its importance cannot be overstated:
Gratitude reduces stress and makes us more resilient.
Gratitude helps us feel more positive emotions.
Gratitude unshackles us from toxic emotions.
Gratitude improves our self-esteem.
Gratitude decreases the symptoms of depression.
Gratitude helps us sleep better.
Gratitude improves our interpersonal relationships.
Gratitude enhances optimism.
Gratitude can even help us lower blood pressure, stop smoking, or lose weight.
How to create daily habits of gratitude
I was listening to Tim Ferris’ podcast the other night while I was cooking dinner and he was interviewing Jack Canfield. I found this (unrelated) video from Jack Canfield that has five practical suggestions for how to create daily habits of gratitude.
He suggests:
Taking seven minutes each morning to write down what you’re grateful for
Appreciating at least three people each day
Appreciation game - looking for the good in all situations
Carrying a physical token of gratitude in your pocket
Appreciating yourself
Do you have a daily habit of gratitude?
“Gratitude helps us see what is there instead of what isn’t.”
– Annette Bridges
🎬25 Reasons To Be Thankful
As we start this journey together, here is a little inspiration from YouTube (hat tip to the University of Illinois for surfacing this gem).
I hope you have a wonderful day.
Let me know what you’re grateful for today. I’m grateful for you.
Be well,
-Bryce
PS: There are sixty days left in 2025. How will you spend them?
If you currently read this in email, now is a great time to consider installing the free Substack app so you can participate in the community more easily. You can continue to read the blog in email, online or the app, whichever you prefer. If you’d prefer to not install the app, you can still participate in the community via the web.
Cheers for this reminder to be grateful, Bryce.