Knowledge is Power. Practice is Key.

At 6am this morning my alarm went off, two hours prior to my normal wake up call.You may be reading this from the other side of the world, so let me set the scene for you...

I live in Sussex, a county bordering South London, so winter is very much on its way. At this time it is pitch black here, and already the cold is seeping in through the windows. The temptation to hit the infamous 'Snooze' button never looked so good. Alas- I propped up my pillows to read my list of 10 blessings before heading to start my new gym regime. I found it easier to really absorb what I was saying by reading it aloud, and instantly I was smiling. I'm not exactly sure who I am saying thank you to, but I beamed up to say the magic words. I suddenly felt wide awake and ready for the day ahead.

Things were pretty smooth sailing to begin with, I felt rather upbeat after my work out and even stopped at my local corner shop to buy a few gifts for my co-workers to help the hump day blues. Who doesn't enjoy a reindeer shaped Malteser chocolate bar? Good karma is surely coming my way.

However after a few hours I could feel myself becoming stressed and swamped down by the activities that come with being an office employee. I did read my list to myself and felt a surge of happiness for a while, but sadly this did not last the afternoon. By 5pm I was tired and ready for home like any Wednesday.

But remember- this is only day one of my journey to a magical life. I tried to remain positive when my colleagues had a moan to because we had no milk in, and steered clear of joining in on any office gossip. Although I did succumb to that hum-drum, negative, 'meh' feeling that I am sure so many of you are familiar with, my day started off a lot brighter than usual and I did have my 'blessing list' as a secret weapon to perk me up when needed. Overall I would say I was off to a pretty good start. By practicing gratitude daily, hopefully this will become a habit and one that will last past my 28 day experiment.

My newest challenge is to find a 'Magic Rock'. The purpose of my rock is to hold it in the palm of my hand before I go to bed and think back to the best part of my day before saying thank you to the universe. I have a rose-quartz stone given to me by my best friend which perfectly suits this latest practice. As I lay in bed this evening, I have a few happy moments to chose from; meeting up with my close friend for a chai latte at lunch, burning 400 calories on the cross trainer this morning, or the fact my work friend and I both found a common interest in Whams classic music video 'Last Christmas' (the 80's hair doo's, the oversized cosy jumpers, that warm fuzzy Christmas feeling you get; whats not to love?).

If you're thinking about giving these challenges a go, I would so far recommend it. Little by little, I'm starting to find good in the most unexpected of places....x