Being grateful ain't easy. Seriously! It takes discipline to view the world from a place of gratitude instead of complacency or complaint. Just like buying a treadmill won't make you fit, buying a gratOodle won't make you grateful - unless you use it. But the pay-offs! And it's a lot more fun than exercise. No exertion required - just plain old enjoyment.

Robert Emmons, a professor of psychology at the University of California-Davis and Dr. Michael McCullough of the University of Miami conducted a number of experiments in order to explore the impact of gratitude on individuals. The results were amazing! Participants in the gratitude groups felt better about their lives and were more optimistic, determined, enthusiastic, and joyful. They felt stronger about handling challenges, exercised more, had fewer illnesses, and got more sleep. And that's not all! They were also more likely to have helped someone else, were perceived by others as more generous and helpful, were more likely to make progress toward important goals, were less envious of those with more possessions and were less cluttered. Good grief, less cluttered? Yeah!

The results of practicing gratitude are undeniable. And these results favourably affect every aspect of our lives - physical, mental, psychological and spiritual. And yet, in his book, Thanks!: How the New Science of Gratitude Can Make You Happier - Dr. Robert Emmons says, "I think gratitude is a very demanding quality, a rigorous quality we need to work on. It is a discipline, an exercise, and it doesn't come easy to most people."

Just like we sometimes need a wee nudge (or a swift kick) out the door to run, bike or head to the gym we also need the same nudge to work our gratitude muscles. To that end we at GratOodle-LU Purveyors are declaring a GratOodle Day on Wednesday, June 16th. Yes! We invite you to pick up your gratOodle on the 16th (if you have one - if not and you live in Victoria, BC you can by one at The Good Planet on Fort. St. Or order on-line) and participate with us.

I know this is going to sound like an advertisement but Delaney and I are so excited about the potential global impact of gratitude that I am just going to say it. What better way to make gratitude a rigorous, positive habit then to carry a gratOodle with you throughout your day. The act of holding the gratOodle in your hand, hearing the clicks as you tally what you are grateful for as it happens, and watching the numbers grow makes gratitude a tactile, auditory and visual experience. It's pretty common knowledge that using a variety of modalities to learn a new skill increases the likelihood of that skill becoming an integrated habit. And we want everyone to get into the habit of gratitude!

We are sending out a personal invitation to participate in GratOodle Day to a group of people. We will email a reminder the night before (that wee nudge). If you would like to be on that email list let me know via email (sarala [at] gratoodle [dot] com).

We invite feedback about your experiences. What's it like to spend a day focused on gratitude from the moment you get up until you lay your head on your pillow at night? What's it like knowing you are doing this with a group of people from all over the world? You can post your thoughts on our Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/Gratoodle or send us an email or post comments on our blog at http://www.gratoodle.com/blog.

We want to build gratitude momentum! We want the world to build strong gratitude muscles! Let's show the world that ....

GRATITUDE COUNTS!