It’s the last day of November, the final hours even. How did my NaNoWriMo go? Here’s a simple answer:

We did it! BlackLion and I finished our first-ever novel around noontime today, with a combined total of 105,332 words. Yessss!!! The working title is The Door Is the Key: A Modern Faerie Tale.

The entire experience was fantastic. My goals were to finish the requisite 50K and to explore my creativity in a new way. Both goals were achieved, and to add to that, I actually really like the draft we created. Yes, it needs polish and edits and all of that. But I think it’s a nice emerald in the rough (what? I’m just not a diamond fan).

I also re-discovered something about myself. I work very well under a system of flexible self-discipline (which I’ve written about before). When I set myself a challenge such as NaNoWriMo, I rise up to meet it. The results tend to be unexpected and cool, like the new novel we created.

So, that said, December is going to have its own project. I came up with the idea, and you’re the first to hear about it. I haven’t even talked about it with my family or friends yet. Here it is: December is going to be for my Gratitude Project.

Everywhere I go, I read or hear about the power and value of gratitude. Yes, it’s November, so articles about gratitude are everywhere. But it also seems like something I personally could benefit from. I’m getting the message.

My simple challenge to myself: make a list of at least 3 things I’m grateful for, every day throughout the month of December. Share the list with others.

I’m pairing it with this cool website called Happier.com. A friend of mine has been raving about it for a while, so I already planned to check it out (I was even part of a hilarious little video that she did for her Happier page). It’s a public way to share moments that bring you happiness. I figure that things I’m grateful for are ones that make me happy, so I signed up and will be posting my daily list there. I might also post some of them here on the blog, and on Facebook and Twitter. That part is flexible.

The goal is to establish a habit of daily gratitude practice. Simple, yet (possibly) profound. We’ll soon see. Want to join me?  Leave a comment if this idea appeals to you, or you’ve tried something similar. Also, what is your experience with self-discipline and challenges? I’d love to hear your thoughts.