This is my story 🙏

A personal letter from our founder, Alisha about how Brightside came into being and what's in store ahead.

Dear reader,

Let me take you back to 2018.

2018 was by far one of the best years of my life. I travelled to 5 countries, had a stable relationship, a well-paying job, good health, the goodness of friends & family and great opportunities that brought me closer to my goals. The good life had me in its perfectly manicured grip and I was buzzing from the excitement of it all. 

Can you sense a “But” coming?

It is.

But, each time I came back home from a busy day or got back from travelling, instead of feeling satisfied, I felt a sense of anxiousness for the next big thing/event. Turns out what I was feeling is a phenomenon called “arrival fallacy”.

“Arrival Fallacy is this illusion that once we make it, once we attain our goal or reach our destination, we will reach lasting happiness.”

What actually happens is - you do not reach this lasting happiness, ever, and simply go on to attach your happiness to the next goal. It’s a vicious cycle. 

To break this cycle, I needed to slow down, take notice of the small things and stop waiting to “arrive”. I had to take the time to stop and smell the roses. (read: recognise and appreciate the good, yet often ignored parts of my life.)

Slowing down helps us overcome lack of appreciation, enables us to count our blessings, brightens our view of who we are and where we are in the world—and can make us happier and content with our lives. It can make us feel the wondrous feeling of having gratitude.

Practicing gratitude was not new to me, it has been been a part of my life ever since I was a kid. My mum played a significant role in starting me young and made sure I notice the small things, the small joys of life and expressed appreciation for them. Every time something good happened or something worked in my favour, I always felt a deep sense of joy and gratefulness. “Thank You, Universe” was a part of my regular inner dialogue.

I also realized the more I was grateful for, the more I had to be grateful for. 

However as a young adult going through the ebbs and flows of life, I’d unknowingly put this practice on the back burner.

So in 2018, the mindset of gratitude tickled my curiosity yet again but this time, it also piqued my interest. I wanted to be deliberate about my practice and recalibrate my life to be more appreciative and mindful. 

In my pursuit, I discovered that people like Oprah Winfrey, Richard Branson, Emma Watson and Tim Ferris keep a gratitude journal and have been advocating the power and pleasure of being grateful for years. 

To me, gratitude journaling seemed like the perfect way to overcome my constant feeling of “not enough”. 

It was:
A simple habit 
Low effort (as it took me hardly 5 minutes to do) 
As a result, I was very consistent with it

But when I looked online for “gratitude journals in India”, I did not find even a single one dedicated completely to gratitude. I’d mostly find daily planners with a small section for writing gratitude lists cramped in a corner. Instead of waiting for the perfect journal to come my way, I walked to the nearest stationery shop, got myself a simple ruled notebook and every night before going to bed I started writing down three things I’m grateful for.

I maintained this practice for over a year and it transformed my life and how! My life didn’t just look good on the outside, it also felt good on the inside. 

This 5 minute habit helped me slow down, got me to reflect, made me a better person, brought more meaning and joy into my relationships and so much more. I knew then, that this ordinary superpower had to be shared with the world. And so, in December 2019, Brightside Journal was born. 

The past two years have been wild to say the least: 

• We’ve sold over 10,000+ journals ♥️

• Companies like LinkedIn, Schindler, Crompton Greaves, Grant Thornton, Arcesium and more have bought our journals in bulk to gift them to their team members and colleagues 🎉

• We’re the first organic search result when you type “Gratitude Journal India” on Google 🔝

• Our community is the best ever  👨‍👩‍👧‍👧  Take a look!

Why am I reminiscing today?

If you read our previous newsletter, you know that we celebrated gratitude week all of last week in honour of World Gratitude Day. One of the weekly activities was to look back on the past years and take note of things that you accomplished and those that brought you joy. That took me back to the start of the Brightside journey and I wanted to take you along with me. 

As a small business, we have our good days and bad days. There’s uncertainty, self-doubt, the highest of highs, absolutely fulfilling days and some days where we question our journey. However, one thing has remained unchanged — our love for what we do. 

I don’t say that lightly. 

Making simple tools of mental health available to our community brings us joy.
Sharing meaningful, educational content on our social platforms brings us joy.
Being authentic and honest in our journey brings us joy.
Receiving valuable feedback and support from you brings us joy.
Being able to touch base and communicate with you, in this way or another, brings us joy.

I hope our journals & content bring joy to you too.

On the path ahead, we will continue to keep our heads down, stay focused, do less, but do better, choose value over volume, and continue to help you realize your true potential with what we create. 

Stay with us, friend!

With gratitude,
Alisha & The Brightside Team