Happy Challenge Winners

On April 4th, I issued a challenge and threw out a bribe to make it happen.

For the next 21 days, do it.  Write down 3 thing you are grateful for.  What makes you happy?  It’s okay if it’s hard.  If it’s hard for you, you need it more than most.

Now, the truly hard part:

Your answers can be as long or as short as you’d like, but there has to be 3 new things every day for 21 days.  We’re going to train your brain to look for the positive, so you can’t give me 63 things on day 21.  3 things, 21 days.

On day 22, tell me how the previous 3 weeks have been.

The contest ran until May 15th and generated 435 happy things across 145 cumulative days.    I’m going to spend some time crunching the data because it is inspiring to read the things that make all of you happy every day.   Mostly, it’s little things, like quiet Sunday mornings, fresh air, or family meals.  Those are the things life is made of.  The big things pass as milestones, but they can never create a happy life by themselves.

On to the winners!

These were chosen randomly.  I cannot and will not try to judge who has the best reasons to be happy.

In first place, K.C. wins $125.   K.C.’s Day 22 response was “It was really hard some days, but it showed me some important things about how I think. I think it would be good to do this with a small notebook and pencil. I found myself thinking of the same things several times, which made me think about treating those things more specially. Overall, it was a good exercise.”

Second place ($75) goes to Petra with, “I can’t believe I’m at day 22 already.  I’m not sure if this exercise made me a happier person, but it has gotten me to reflect and appreciate what (and who) I have and my surroundings.  Looking at my entries (yes, I kept track of them), I do notice patterns of the things I value most and that give me joy and gratitude.  These are: family, nature, a job that I enjoy, relationships, and anything that makes my life a little easier or enjoyable.  Thank you for providing this challenge to your readers.”

Third place ($50) goes to Lynda, who said, “I enjoyed this challenge. It wasn’t very hard. I noticed that when I was entering the giveaways each day, it helped me reflect on my day. But I didn’t really notice a change in my attitude.”

I’d like to thank everyone who participated, even if it was for just one day.  You’ve made my month brighter.