It’s backkkkkkkkk.
I was on the fence about running another round of The F.I.G. Collective this winter because of… life! But then Stephany posted about her experience participating in this group practice last February. Her encouragement to coordinate something similar this year was the final nudge I needed to dust the old graphics off and give it a go.
I’ve had some new readers visiting this corner of the internet recently, so I should probably rewind a bit to provide a quick overview of what exactly I’m talking about!
What is The F.I.G. Collective?
It’s an online group—hosted by me—that tracks little moments of gratitude each day in February. (In terms of semantics, F.I.G. stands for Finding Joy in Gratitude and members of The F.I.G. Collective make note of FIGs. Or, as Allison countered, our Fjigs, which sounds delightfully Scandinavian.)
Here’s how I introduced it last year:
Every day in February I’m going to write down something positive. It could be a glimmer of light on a dark day (literally or figuratively), a tiny triumph, or a happy thing. It could be small—I didn’t have to wait in line at the grocery store. It could be huge—Access to clean water.
There are no rules. If you miss a day, nothing bad will happen.
I know some readers are dealing with heavy challenges and finding anything about which to be grateful might seem borderline impossible. I have been there and I’ve learned there are glimmers and triumphs and happy things to be found, even in the middle of a thunderstorm.
I’ve come to see my gratitude practice as a shelter of sorts… it doesn’t stop the downpour, but it can make the deluge seem a little less scary and overwhelming. (Hence the umbrella graphic.)
Ahead of our trip to Europe, everything seems in deep flux and a bit chaotic. I’m not quite sure what my recaps will look like. Things might happen early or a bit late, but what I can guarantee is that the practice will bring us a lot of joy. It’s a delight to share the little (or big) moments of gratitude we experience in our individual lives within a broader, collective setting.
My vision is to closely replicate what we did last year because it was so much fun!
Here’s Joy’s completed printable.
Michelle even created a pint-sized printable for her dollhouse!
The best way to get a sense for the experience is to take a quick scan of the recaps from last year.
More generally, I do something akin to the Cool Blogger’s Walking Club. Bloggers often posted about their FIGs (and sent me the link to their blog to include in my recap post). Other readers submitted a photo or two: maybe of an item or experience that brought them joy, or perhaps a picture of their printable from the week. Again, there are no rules!
Once a week, I will do a summary post of all the submitted Fresh FIGs, including my own.
I still have my FIG notebook from last year, so I’m pulling that out with great delight for this year’s gratitude adventure.
I’m also repurposing the printable from last year for anyone that’s interested, but a piece of looseleaf or the back of an old envelope will work just fine. The method and medium don’t matter, it’s the doing that counts.
If this sounds like something you’d like to participate in this February, please pull up a proverbial chair. The more stories and small joys we gather, the richer the experience becomes! (I found participation seems to be best encouraged via word of mouth, so consider this your permission slip to invite a friend who might not be familiar with my blog!)
Note that February 1st is a Sunday (which seems like the perfect day to start a gratitude practice)… and the final day is a Saturday! Don’t worry—I will be providing reminders in the lead-up to the start of the month.
Okay, enough blathering from me.
- Who’s in?
- Let’s warm up by listing five FIGs from your day so far.
I’ll go first:
- A quiet house (for a few hours).
- Sunshine out the window.
- I’m wearing a comfortable pair of pants.
- We have lots of leftovers in the fridge: no cooking required today!!!!
- I have my Patreon post drafted and scheduled for tomorrow!
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Oh, I’m so excited for this! I’ve never joined the F.I.G. Collective before, so I can’t wait to see everyone’s FIGs.
Michelle’s dollhouse version is just too adorable!
My day has just started, but I’ve already spotted some low-hanging FIGs:
1. TWO cups of fresh hot tea (black with a dash of milk)
2. Sunshine glinting on the snowed-in rooftops across from our house in Zurich
3. A lovely text from a student in South Africa, setting up a call later today
4. Another text from a friend about her snowy hike yesterday
5. After a good night’s sleep, all my stats are trending back up
Isn’t the miniature version TOO CUTE!
Yay for tea. I love that something you have daily can still bring so much joy. Thanks for sharing your happy things; they definitely made me smile <3
I’m in, though you know my figs will be of dubious quality.
Today – it’s early, but I’ll use my reliable : warm fuzzy cat sleeping with me. I got my daughter’s cpap back on, so she’ll get a few hours of sleep with it. Roof over my head and indoor plumbing. ( I can’t imagine going to an outhouse at 3am in the winter. So glad my facilities are inside!)
Yay for a warm, fuzzy companion <3 It's okay if that shows up every single day in February.
Indoor plumbing FOR THE WIN!
Yay, I’m so happy we’re doing figs again this year!
Hmmm…5 things…
1. Waking up before my alarm so I have a few extra minutes this morning.
2. Remembering that my grocery store app takes Apple Pay so even though my debit card got hacked, I can still do my grocery shopping this week while waiting for a replacement.
3. Starting a fresh page in my planner this morning.
4. Coffee!
5. Letters from pen friends.
Thanks for the encouragement to be thankful.
Oh no – a hacked debit card. Joy, what a proper nuisance. But gold stars for reframing some positive spins on a negative situation.
I love the feeling of a fresh page in a notebook, planner, etc.
Yay! I am here for this kind of challenge! Here are my 5!
1. I’m drinking coffee in a quiet house by the glow of our tree.
2. We had a really nice outing to the library yesterday. The boys were a little wild but it was still a good outing.
3. I had a great time with my college girlfriends on Saturday.
4. I have 3 hours of doctor appts plus all the commuting time so have the day off. Usually I jam appts into my work day. It will be nice not to do that today.
5. I have my first work trip this week but I am traveling with one of my favorite sales reps so the time in the car between meetings will be genuinely enjoyable. And he’s bringing his wife to our client dinner on Wednesday night so I can meet her. He has said we are so similar and that we will hit it off.
Good call to take the day off!
And hooray for a quiet house, twinkle lights, and COFFEE!
I will be away for a bit of Feb but will (hopefully) text you my figs! Thanks for putting this on, Elisabeth!
Your travel adventures will be full of FIGs, no doubt 🙂
Me! Me! I’m in! Okay, five FIGS for today…
1. I did an elliptical workout this morning with no calf pain
2. I’m sipping a delicious Earl Grey tea right now
3. Leftover soup in the fridge (no cooking tonight!!!)
4. I slept decently last night
5. Looking forward to a fun trip to Tampa!
Hooray for no niggly calf pain. Yay for sleep, leftovers, trips, and delicious tea!
!- The coffee is hot and tasty.
2-I woke up to the kitty on my bed.
3-The sun is out.
4-A warm home.
5-Crocheting with friends this morning
This all sounds wonderfully hygge and cozy <3
Ok, that printable is SO freaking cute!!!
Ha. Anthropomorphized anything tends to be adorable, and FIGS! I’m glad you think it’s cute because it still makes me smile every time I see it!
1. Making it safely to Florida even with a pounding rainstorm through Georgia (props to my husband for having nerves of steel!)
2. The polite little egret who was visiting the grocery store yesterday.
3. A lovely bike ride to watch the sunrise at the beach this morning.
4. Showing my second-oldest the Atlantic Ocean for the first time in his life.
5. The first home cooked meal in the beach house after two days on the road.
I hate driving in rain. It’s terrifying (and dangerous). I’m glad you made it safely and that your husband took the lead on driving.
I hope you have a wonderful time away. And if I remember correctly you and your son were going to take the exam before leaving?? I hope it’s restful and relaxing.
A great idea! I kept a gratitude journal two years ago, but it only lasted a month for me. It became too repetitive for me. But here is my list for the two hours I’ve been awake today:
1. I slept in!
2. When I took the recycling out, the sky was a beautiful purple color.
3. The sun is currently shining!
4. I have enough free time to read blogs this morning.
5. I just enjoyed a delicious egg salad on toast.
What a great way to start the day (and now I’m craving some eggs on toast!!!)
I am pulling up my proverbial chair and joining in! I love FIGS! Thank you for deciding to host it again!
My FIGS so far today:
1. I went for a ten-minute morning walk, it was 30 degrees, and the fresh air felt so good.
2. I had a long, hot shower.
3. I had a delicious cup of coffee with sugar free chocolate syrup.
4. I’m listening to Gwyneth Paltrow read blog posts using the Speechify app.
5. My washing machine has 10 minutes left, so I get to put my feet up and rest for 10 minutes!
Michelle, I LOVE all your happy things. And hooray for apps like Speechify. Sometimes technology really does make our lives richer!
This sounds delightful! I have started an evening gratitude practice before bed, and this feels like it will be a great extension of that. Here are my FIGs for today:
1. Listening to the ‘peaceful piano’ stream on the Your Classical website
2. Being one of the only ones in the office today – it’s adding to the peaceful vibe
3. Winter sunshine through the window
4. A delicious lunch of homemade bread and soup leftovers
5. Wearing new-to-me thrifted boots for the first time – I love them!
Love the timing of your practice! It’s nice to reflect on positive things right before heading off to dreamland.
And your list of FIGs was absolutely delightful to read (it’s cold and blustery out today so homemade bread and soup sounds like perfection).
I love this, and will joyfully join the Fjiggy delights 🙂
Starter moments:
1: I’ve got bread dough rising, my second attempt making freshly-milled honey wheat bread (the first turned out delicious!)
2: The sun is out, so even though it is *freezing*, there are warm patches inside where the light streams in
3: I get to indulge in crab rangoons for lunch today
4: Cashed in reward points for a free tea at Chick-fil-A, because #Monday
5: New wool socks are actually keeping my feet warm
That bread sounds INCREDIBLE!!!!
I’m wearing warm socks right now (with a blanket on my lap); sign me up for all things cozy in the winter.
We did and both of us passed and are certified nurse aides in our state! So this trip is a bit of a celebration. 😉
Karen, this is amazing!!!!!!! Congratulations and enjoy this celebratory trip.
Last year (perhaps inspired by FIGs?), I started to keep a journal where every night, I write One Good Thing that happened that day. Some days it’s a stretch! Other days my cup runneth over. So while I may not exactly participate specifically for February, I will be with you in spirit!
Here’s hoping for many days where your cup will overflow 🙂
Definitely participating in F.I.G.s!
Today’s F.I.G.s:
Morning coffee
Good workout at the gym
Putting deposit down for new roof(I could see this as a bad thing; however, I knew the roof needed to be replaced and planned for it)
Quinoa salad I put together yesterday made for easy lunch today
16th annual Hot Chocolate Festival – have confirmed dates to meet and enjoy this wonderful activity with my daughter and a friend
Yay!
Jacquie, you have the BEST food festivals. Enjoy that hot chocolate and the special time with your daughter and friend.
FIVE?! That’s so many. Okay, here goes.
1. Delicious salad at lunch.
2. A productive work meeting in which something I’ve been asking about for months is going to come to fruition.
3. A happy dog with a wagging tail on my morning walk.
4. Being able to write notes to some of my graduating seniors congratulating them.
5. The sun is shining today.
I believe in you, Engie!!!!!
And you did it. And these are delightful.
I don’t have five but I did receive an unexpected phone call from an old friend today. It was nice to catch up – and have a collective moan about the status of both of our job searches.
Talking with an understanding friend is a true joy.
I am excited you’re doing the F.I.G. Collective again… I remember it was a challenge for me last February, there was so much going on in my world, but it was a great exercise.
Here’s five FIGs from today:
– a great run this morning
– a (virtual) lunch time walk with friends
– a good talk with my new supervisor
– a cup of tea
– a warm fireplace
I am nursing my first coffee and it is bringing me so much joy! We do love our warm, caffeinated beverages 🙂
Thanks for sharing your FIGs and I hope it brings some light into your February.
I love this! I’m in. It’s only 5am here but here are mine so far:
1. waking up fully rested after not sleeping well the night before due to travel.
2. reading 10 min in bed before waking up
3. coming downstairs when it’s fully dark and feeling mini excited about the day
4. greeted by Bubble when I enter my office room.
5. hearing Bubble playing while Lizzy sleeps. bubble wants to play, lizzy needs to sleep. I find them such a cute combo and so loving.
Awww. Those moments with Bubble (and Cookie) seems so sweet.
I love being the first person up. Unfortunately, I’m not a morning person so it doesn’t happen consistently, but when it does… JOY!
Thanks for coordinating this!
I’m thankful:
– I got to see my grandpa one last time
– He was alert enough to respond
– He had 94 years of life
– He’s a believer in Christ as his savior and didn’t fear death
– After little sleep, and multiple flights, I got a good night’s rest
It is so hard to say goodbye to those we love, but there is a unique joy as a Christian knowing that the future is bright and glorious <3
Today was roughhhhhhh.
1. Blocks A and blocks C students- they are fresh, giant FIGs!
2. The sun is out.
3. I was up at 4:30 and had time to myself.
4. I packed my gym bag.
5. I made it to work on time in spite of dropping the kids off at school (solo parenting this week).
Yay for FIGs (and quiet time) despite it being such a busy, exhausting week of work + solo parenting.
I think you know that I will be joining in again. Hmmm, five things …
1. Finally moving forward on a todo that has been on my list for over a year
2. Drinking coffee again
3. Sitting outside eating my breakfast
4. Marvellous creations in the lolly jar
5. Morning walk with H
Yay!!!
There is something extraordinarily satisfying about making progress on a long-term action item.
I love a day when no cooking is involved!
I’m in! Thank you for hosting. XO
Well, it’s early here.
1) I slept well!
2) It’s cold and dreary out, but I have my fireplace roaring.
3) We have guests arriving today, which will be fun.
4)We have loads of workers on site this week, pushing to finish our big House Project.
5)I’m in the midst of planning a baby shower for my granddaughter’s arrival this spring.
Enjoy the company!!! And OH MY GOODNESS it’s already time to gear up for Grandbaby #2!! How exciting.
YAYYYY! I’m so excited you’re doing this again, although I didn’t want to put any pressure on you to coordinate it again with your busy year ahead of you!
Here are my FIGS:
1) I GET TO SEE JENNY TODAY!!!!
2) I get to go to bookstores! I planned us a bookish day of adventure and will try not to come home with too many books, but no promises.
3) I have the day off so I got to sleep in a bit and have a slow morning.
4) IT’S COLD. I woke up to a “feels like” temp of 28, and after too many days of hot weather, I am so happy for the cold front!
5) My cats are finally adjusted to their new feeders and I am so relieved!
I am SO jealous (I saw her post and assumed her reference was about meeting with you). Enjoy that visit.
A day of book adventuring sounds PERFECT for the two of you.
Oh my goodness. I can’t even imagine that feeling like a cold front. Enjoy the reprieve from hot weather.
And I am so glad the feeders are working. It will help you monitor their intake so much better and I’m glad they’ve adjusted to the new system. Hooray!
I am in! I need something to get out off my slump that started last year with everything going on in the world. Since my day just started out I am going with yesterdays gratefuls:
1. My colleague passing her grad school qualifying exam.
2. Finally finding the mini bear statue on campus that I always missed so far.
3. A nice smelling flower I received.
4. Making my gym class.
5. Coming home to cooked dinner after said gym class.
Thanks for sharing, Meike. What lovely FIGs!
I’m backing up a bit. Life is keeping me on my toes.
1. Despite an unexpected snow storm Curly and I made our Wed am flight
2. The sun came out in Tampa and Culy and I reclined by the pool (dressed in clothes- it wasn’t overly warm)
3. My dad has agreed to hire their caregiver for the full 5 day week vs 3 days
4. My Tank was handed tix to the Bears game by his work
5. I slept great both nights in Tampa.
That must be such a relief to have your parents with more care. I know you bear a lot of that burden.
Yay for sleep and sunshine and making flights AND GETTING FOOTBALL TICKETS!!!
1. slept better than previous night.
2. warm cup of tea
3. negative covid test
4. mild cold but have warm house, food, friends, good plumbing, electricity. Basics that make life nice.
5. car accident last night outside my window did not involve my car.
that actually is a lot of lucky good thiings!
Hooray for good sleep and testing negative for COVID. I know it’s circulating again.
Those little things that we forget about that are actually HUGE: power, internet, heat, food. It’s so easy to gloss over them because we take them for granted, but they’re the building blocks to living safe, comfortable lives.
Hello from Oregon! I’ve been enjoying your blog for at least the past two years and this is the first time I’ve commented. Thank you for this uplifting space! I would like to join in on FIGS this year,
Awww. Thanks so much for taking the time to comment. Welcome to the FIG Collective. We’re always keen to have more members <3