Every day presents new opportunities for you to experience something positive. While every day won’t be chocked full of those magical “once in a lifetime” experiences, there are always small ways to have positive experiences that boost your wellbeing!
When you practice injecting each day with a new chance to build a positive experience, you’ll notice that positivity becomes more and more prevalent in your daily life.
30 Day Challenge
To get started with creating daily positive experiences and boosting your wellbeing, try this 30-day positive experiences challenge!
Day 1: The Experience of Loving Yourself Completely
Loving yourself isn’t always easy. Even folks who appear secure in themselves have moments where they have a hard time loving themselves completely. In a world where every aspect of a human being can be scrutinized, it’s often easier to find your faults than to focus on your strengths.
On Day 1 of this challenge, build a positive experience around allowing yourself some self-love recognition. Take a moment or two, stand in front of a mirror, and name three things you love about yourself. You can also journal a list of things you enjoy about yourself.
Thank your body for all the great things it allows you to do. The possibilities are endless but give yourself those few moments of self-love as your first positive experience!
Day 2: The Experience of a Joyful Moment
Day 2 is all about finding happiness in the ordinary. Every day isn’t going to be filled with “I can’t believe that happened to me” moments, but every day will have something joyful in it.
Find that joy and allow yourself to fully feel and experience it! Did you get all your bills paid for the month? Did someone say something nice to you? Did you get to enjoy your favorite dessert? Small moments of joy like these should be recognized and appreciated.
Day 3: The Experience of Being There for Someone Else
On Day 3, challenge yourself to be there for someone else. While many people want to be present for family and friends going through crises, you can still be there for someone without needing an emergency situation to do so.
For example, you can send your relatives a greeting card, call up your friend for a chat, or make plans to surprise your sibling. While these acts are small, they let the people in your life know that you’re there for them!
Day 4: The Experience of Standing Up for Yourself
Standing up for yourself is crucial. If you don’t stand up for yourself, you can’t guarantee that someone else will. Rather than finding yourself in a difficult situation you don’t want to be involved in, standing up for yourself is your first line of defense for protecting yourself.
On Day 4, build a positive experience around standing up for yourself. This doesn’t necessarily mean standing up to a bully or mean person (hopefully, you don’t have anyone in your life like that). Standing up for yourself can also mean honoring your boundaries, saying “no,” and opting out of situations that don’t serve you.
Day 5: The Experience of Chasing Your Passion Wholeheartedly
Day 5 is all about going after a passion. Think about what passions of yours bring you joy. Do you enjoy participating in a certain activity? Are you passionate about your career? Do you have big dreams about starting a business?
Today, give yourself the positive experience of doing something to feed your passion. Create something new, research a potential career swap, or start on a new project. Even a baby step builds a positive experience around chasing your passion!
Day 6: The Experience of Celebrating a Win
Every day is full of wins….if you know how to look for them! Big wins are always exciting but usually fleeting; however, every day contains a multitude of small wins.
On Day 6, give yourself the positive experience of celebrating all your wins, no matter how small they may be. Did you leave the house on time this morning? Win! Did you have a good workout? Win! Did you cook a fabulous meal? Win! Whatever it is, spend today celebrating and appreciating that win!
Day 7: The Experience of Acting Without Fear
Fears are difficult to navigate. Whatever your fears may be, spend Day 7 choosing a fear to act upon!
You don’t necessarily have to find a way to confront your biggest and most challenging fears today – start smaller by giving yourself the positive experience of doing a small, fear-challenging act. For example, if speaking in front of people makes you fearful, challenge yourself to make one comment to the group during a work meeting.
Day 8: The Experience of Being Vulnerable
Being vulnerable with others is tough. It requires you to let your guard down and be open with others instead of protecting yourself.
On Day 8, allow yourself to be vulnerable with someone else. Express your emotions, explain your opinion or feelings on something, or tell them something you may have otherwise withheld. Being vulnerable will give you the positive experience of openness and honesty with another person.
Day 9: The Experience of Opening Your Heart and Soul to Another Human Being
On Day 9, the challenge is all about opening your heart and soul to another human being. This human can be your partner, a friend, a relative, or anyone else you want to develop an even stronger relationship with through opening your heart.
To complete this challenge, give yourself the positive experience of allowing that chosen person to understand how you feel. This can be as simple as reminding them that you love them and care about them deeply.
Day 10: The Experience of Overcoming a Fear
Overcoming your fears takes time and practice. One way to make overcoming a fear a reality is to take small steps toward diminishing your fear. On Day 10, you’re going to choose a fear so you can take that baby step.
To make this challenge into a positive experience, focus on one small thing you can do to address your fear. For example, if you have a fear of bugs, read up on how bugs help the environment (they actually do quite a lot to keep nature in balance!). Arming yourself with knowledge and understanding is a great way to turn overcoming a fear into a positive experience.
Day 11: The Experience of Spending Quality Time with Loved Ones
Day 11 makes for a fun challenge. Today, make some time to hang with your loved ones! Meet up with your parents for dinner after work, grab drinks with your best friend, or plan a fun game night with your roommates!
Day 12: The Experience of Overcoming a Challenge or Adversity
On Day 12, think of a challenge you’ve been facing lately. Today, choose to make one actionable step toward overcoming that challenge. It doesn’t need to be a big step in order to be a positive experience. Any movement forward in trying to overcome a challenge is a big step. Take that first step today!
Day 13: The Experience of Being Completely Honest With Another Person
Allowing yourself to be completely honest with someone is hard, especially if you fear that you might upset or offend them in the process!
Today, allow yourself to be completely honest with someone. Tell the person exactly how you feel and why rather than trying to sugar-coat your thoughts.
Day 14: The Experience of Appreciation
Appreciation comes in all shapes and sizes. On Day 14, choose one thing or person you appreciate and acknowledge them!
Do you appreciate your friend for being kind to you? Tell them! Do you appreciate something you have? Express it! Do you appreciate yourself? Tell yourself! Releasing feelings of appreciation is a fantastic, positive experience that spreads joy.
Day 15: The Experience of Expressing Your Feelings with Complete Honesty
Use Day 15 as an opportunity to create a positive experience around your feelings and emotions. Often, people feel that they can’t express exactly how they’re feeling, but letting those emotions be heard and understood is the healthiest way to manage them.
Allow yourself to express your feelings today. Tell someone how you’re doing or be honest with yourself about your emotions.
Day 16: The Experience of Learning Something New
In the information age, the ability to learn something new is always right at your fingertips! On Day 16, learn something new! Read up on a subject you don’t know much about by finding reliable internet sources on the topic. You can also take a trip to your local public library for great learning resources – this positive experience will leave you a little smarter at the end!
Day 17: The Experience of Acquiring a New Skill
Think about something you’ve always wanted to learn how to do. Have you wanted to learn how to change your own car tire, knit a scarf, or shred on a skateboard?
On Day 17, take a step toward learning that new skill. Find books and websites on the topic. Watch videos for inspiration. Order the basic supplies you need to start learning. Turn this day into a positive experience by kickstarting a new skill!
Day 18: The Experience of Taking a Risk
Make Day 18 all about taking a risk. It doesn’t need to be a high-stakes, scary risk!
For example, take the risk of trying a new restaurant for dinner instead of your usual favorite. Start watching a TV show that wouldn’t be your normal pick. Sign up for a new class at the rec center. These small risks are exciting, positive experiences to expand your horizons.
Day 19: The Experience of Positivity
On Day 19, choose to be a positive person. When others are harboring negative thoughts, be the “silver lining” person of the group. If something crummy happens to you, try to find the positive side of the situation. While falling into negativity is easy, choose to make the experience into something positive by finding the good in your day.
Day 20: The Experience of Spending Time in Nature
Find some time to spend outdoors today. Day 20 is all about building a positive experience by spending some time in nature!
Take a nice walk on your lunch break, move your workout outdoors, or spread out in the grass with a book. If it’s rainy, allow yourself to spend some time outside, letting the raindrops tickle your skin. Spending time in nature is an instant mood booster, making it an excellent positive experience to give yourself.
Day 21: The Experience of Joyful Movement
If you’ve ever had to force yourself to go to the gym, you know what unpleasant movement feels like. Day 21 is all about focusing on joyful movement!
Get in some exercise by participating in an active activity you really, truly enjoy. Do you like walking through the neighborhood park? Do it! Do you like dancing around your house to loud music? Do it! Do you want to play basketball with your kids? Do it! This type of joyful movement is a positive experience for your whole wellbeing!
Day 22: The Experience of Taking a Break
At some point on Day 22, challenge yourself to take a break. It doesn’t need to be a long one, but it should be a conscious effort to step back and relax for a few minutes.
For example, you can take your entire lunch break without checking work emails. You could take a 20-minute walk. You could lie down for half an hour in a dark, cool room. Whatever a break looks like for you, allow yourself the experience of stepping away and taking it.
Day 23: The Experience of Practicing Self Care
Find something you enjoy and do it to take care of yourself on Day 23. Find a way to relax, unwind, and recharge your personal batteries.
Self-care looks different for everyone – you could make a craft, take a nap, spend an hour in a hot bath, treat yourself to a massage, cook a delicious meal for yourself – the possibilities are endless!
Day 24: The Experience of Doing Something Differently Than Usual
Are you a routine-driven person? Are there certain tasks in your life that you do automatically without even having to think about them? On Day 24, challenge yourself to do something differently than usual!
Choose one aspect of your normal routine and swap it with something different. For example, if you normally pack a PB&J sandwich for your work lunch, swap it out for a different main course today.
Take the scenic route instead of your usual path on the way back home. While these are examples of small changes, doing something differently than usual gives you a small, new experience that adds some extra spice to your typical routines.
Day 25: The Experience of Stepping Outside Your Comfort Zone
Stepping out of your comfort zone is how you learn and grow. If you never made an attempt to exit your comfort zone, you’d never get to experience trying new things!
On day 25, challenge yourself to step outside of your comfort zone somehow. Make small talk with a stranger in public. Compliment someone you don’t know well on their outfit. Sign up for a class with your friend. Any time you make an attempt to stretch outside your comfort zone, you’re giving yourself an opportunity to grow.
Day 26: The Experience of Enjoying Your Personal Space(s)
Most people have a variety of personal spaces – your bedroom, your apartment, your office space, your car – and it’s important to find ways to enjoy that personal space since you likely spend tons of time in them!
On day 26, challenge yourself to spruce up at least one of your personal spaces for maximum enjoyment. Clean out your car, add some new decor to your bedroom, or rearrange your desk at work.
Day 27: The Experience of Caring for Another Living Thing
Day 27 challenge doesn’t mean you need to run out and adopt a high-responsibility pet! Instead, find a small way you can care for another living thing.
Start small by purchasing a pet fish or a new plant. Offer to babysit your friends’ child so they can enjoy an evening out on the town. Walk your elderly neighbors’ dog for them. While small, these experiences allow you to really enjoy caring for another living being.
Day 28: The Experience of Giving Back
On Day 28, find a way to give back to something or someone else that needs your help. There are tons of ways you can give back to your community, friends, and family to spread this type of positivity.
For example, you could donate some time to a cause in your community that matters to you. Donate some of your already-read books to your local lending library. Donate an extra $10 to a local charity. Any act of giving back is always a positive boost to your wellbeing.
Day 29: The Experience of Empathy
Everyone needs a little empathy, and practicing spreading it is a great way to make more positive experiences in your life.
If you’ve ever been on the receiving end of someone else’s empathy, you know how refreshing and wonderful it feels to have someone treat you with kindness when you need it most. On Day 29, offer that same extension of kindness and love to another person in need.
If someone in your life needs extra support, offer it. Call up a friend or family member who is experiencing something difficult and offer your help and support to them. Treat your coworkers with some extra kindness at work. The number of ways you can inject some empathy into your day are endless – find one that suits your day and spread that kindness for a positive experience!
Day 30: The Experience of Trusting Your Intuition
In a world where information can be fact-checked from your tiny pocket computer, many people find themselves shying away from their intuition’s messages. Your intuition, sometimes referred to as your hunches, instincts, or gut feelings, is your subconscious mind at work – if you’ve ever felt like your mind was sending you “warning signals” or “vibes” about a situation before you know all the facts, this was likely your intuition trying to tell you something!
On Day 30, allow your intuition to guide your decision making. Often, since your intuition rests in your subconscious mind, the strong feelings it sends you are valid. Since the subconscious works “under the surface” of the active conscious mind, it can be difficult to trust these hunches from your intuition.
For this positive experience challenge, let your intuition take the wheel on some small stakes situations. For example, if you get a strong feeling that you should make a different choice than usual, listen to your feelings, and see what happens.
