I recently spent several months in a very dark place. My life was stalled after a long struggle with Multiple Sclerosis, a chronic neurological disease. I had been hospitalized five times over a three-month period, hadn’t left my house much for over four months, and my bank balance was frighteningly low because my business was stalled due to my health. I felt scared and hopeless.
A simple suggestion from a friend turned things around for me: give away twenty-nine things in twenty-nine days. “By giving, you are focusing on what you have to offer others ... inviting more abundance into your life,” she told me. “Giving of any kind, taking an action, begins the process of change and will shift your energy for life.”
I was wary, but wrote down her suggestion. At first, I had no intention of doing it. I could barely walk some days … and simply couldn’t fathom giving to another person everyday for twenty-nine days. I was attached to my struggle and really believed that I had nothing to give anyone. I thought I needed all of my energy for my own healing. I forgot that healing doesn’t happen in a vacuum, but through our interactions with other people. After ignoring the suggestion for several weeks, I decided to try my friend’s Twenty-Nine-Day Giving Challenge as an experiment.
And so the challenge began. On day one, immediately after giving my first gift, I took myself out for breakfast. Three small but miraculous things happened. A stranger anonymously paid for my breakfast, and I was able to walk home from the café several blocks on my own power with help from a cane. I also got a random phone call with an offer to consult with a large philanthropy organization.
I woke up most days feeling excited about what I might give away. I gave simple things like writing nice notes to friends, washing the dishes for my husband, or donating small amounts of money to causes I cared about. I noticed that the more I gave away, the more wellbeing and abundance flowed into my daily life. There’s no way I could have anticipated what unfolded for me.
By day twenty-nine, I was astounded by the magical and miraculous shifts in my life:
- I was feeling happier, healthier, and more in awe with life.
- I found myself smiling and laughing more.
- My body got stronger and I stopped walking with my cane by week two.
- I was able to go back to work part-time and my business exploded with new, unexpected opportunities.
- I began connecting with community in new ways—experiencing deeper intimacy in my relationships and making new friends.
- My creativity opened up and I began writing stories regularly for the first time since my MS Diagnosis two years ago.
I was so inspired by the change in my own life, that I decided to give the challenge to the world. I documented what I gave away and observations I made each day. I built a Web site and began to post these stories on a community site, hoping others would be inspired to give.
As of this writing, there are 706 Committed Givers signed up for the Challenge. Many of them report remarkable life changes. A fellow entrepreneur made more money during his twenty-nine days than he had generated in the previous three months. One woman reports a renewed intimacy in her marriage, which had grown a bit distance before the Challenge. Many report feeling happier, healthier, more open, and connected to others.
The mission of the Twenty-Nine-Day Giving Challenge is to start a giving movement in the world. I want to collect stories and artwork from people who commit to the Challenge to promote more generosity and healing worldwide. After all, if we want to see our world change, we must do something to change our world.
How the Twenty-Nine-Day Giving Challenge Works:
- Sign up at Twenty-Nine Gifts and give away twenty-nine items in twenty-nine days.
- Your twenty-nine gifts can be anything—money, food, old sweaters, smiles, your time, or kind words or thoughts.
- You can start your personal Twenty-Nine-Day Giving Challenge at any time—there’s no official begin or end date.
- To complete the Challenge, share a story communicating the impact it made on your life to focus on giving. So far, over 1,200 inspiring giving stories have been posted on our site.
- Enjoy your twenty-nine days. And remember to stay open to receiving. Giving can’t happen without the receptors of our gifts. The intention of the challenge is to increase the global field of abundance for everyone, which starts with you.
