This month, I am reminded of exactly why I decided to choose one word to guide each month, rather than one word to guide my entire year: life happens. And while the words I’ve chosen for January and February were perfect for me at the time, they are not what I need in the month of March. 

So, what do I need? Gratitude. I need gratitude. 

I need to remind myself of the blessings I have daily, even when they might not seem like blessings at the time. I need to remind myself that I’m lucky to spend my days working at home, even while jockeying for the better wifi signal with my children. I need to focus on the positive, not the negative, and shift my mindset to appreciate the little things that might go overlooked, even in the midst of a never-ending pandemic. 

And I know that creating a daily gratitude practice will help me do just that.

In both January and February, I found great success in taking part in a daily challenge to support my word of the month. In January, I took part in Breath: A 30 Day Yoga Journey and in February, I joined Gretchen Rubin’s daily relationship challenge. And both were a success. Each day, I received an email or audio message with the challenge for the day…..it doesn’t get much easier than that to remember to complete one little thing each day to bring my word to life!

But honestly, I let my One Little Thing notebook slide a little. I still completed one little thing each day, but I didn’t record it. At first, it didn’t seem like a big deal. I mean, I was doing the work, so why beat myself up for not writing it down? But now, looking back at the month, I do not have a tangible reminder of those little moments from my day I wanted to hold onto. 

So, this month, I am participating in the Two Writing Teachers Slice of Life Challenge to bring more gratitude in my life. Each day, I’ll celebrate one little thing from my day that I am grateful for. I’ll snap a quick picture of the person, item, location or experience I want to hold onto and write a short letter of gratitude to that very thing. Not only will it help me cultivate a mindset of gratitude, but it will help me develop my daily writing habit too, something that can always use a boost. 

So, what’s you’re one word for the month of March? And how will you hold it close all month long? Share your comments below, tag @AffinitoLit on social media and join me in the #OneLittleThing movement!