Mindfulness is a practice that millions of people across the globe use to create a daily routine of grounding themselves to the present and being aware or “mindful” of all the great things in their lives. Whether you’re using daily Bible meditations or practicing the “stop and breathe and appreciate” method, daily mindfulness might help reduce stress and make you feel happier.
If you’ve never practiced mindfulness before, don’t worry—you can start with a very simple practice of gratitude each day to reach that grounded presence you’re looking for. In this short guide, we’ll show you how to create a habit of gratitude for increased mindfulness and quality of life. Your spiritual health is intertwined with the physical and mental, so don’t neglect it!
Stop And Breathe
Before you do anything, you need to “stop and smell the flowers”, so to speak. Too many of us spend our days rushing through the hours, going here and there, answering endless notifications, and having our attention torn in a hundred different directions. While our fast-paced modern world offers plenty of comforts, sometimes, we just need to stop and take a breath.
If you want to begin practicing mindfulness and gratitude, take some time out of your day for just you. Take a walk, sit on a park bench, or find a nice quiet room where you can take five minutes to yourself. Ideally, you’ll do this a few times per day, but that’s not always possible. That’s ok—just be sure you’re taking at least five minutes each day to stop and take a breath.
Take deep, full breaths. Inhale through your nose and exhale through your mouth, and feel the stress come out with those exhaled breaths. Once you’ve calmed yourself and grounded to wherever you are, you can look inward and start practicing gratitude.
What Are You Grateful For?
Everyone is grateful for specific things, people, or opportunities in their lives. What are you grateful for? Your health? Your parents’ or childrens’ health? The opportunities you’ve had at work? Some people choose to sort through each thing, one at time, in their head while they sit or walk. This is completely fine, but there are a few other ways to incorporate gratitude into your life.
Keep A Gratitude Journal
Gratitude journals are a good method for experienced or novice gratitude practitioners. You don’t need a special leather-bound journal or anything to get started. Pick up a $1 journal from the dollar store and write at least two or three things you’re grateful for each day. It’s ok if things overlap. After all, things like family, health, and security are always things to be grateful for, no matter what day it is.
You can write in your journal before bed, when you first wake up, or throughout the day. There are no hard rules for keeping a journal, other than being honest about what you’re grateful for.
Try The Jar Method
This method helps in a similar way to a journal. Get a large mason jar or some tall container with a lid. Each day, write down something you were grateful for that day, and drop it into the jar. After the jar is full, you can empty out the notes and look back on everything you’ve been grateful for in the previous months. All of your blessings and opportunities will be laid out before you in splendid array to appreciate. You can even include family and friends in the practice.
Prayer
Another great way to show gratitude is to pray. Prayer allows us to connect with God and thank him for all of the blessings in our lives. We have an obligation to be thankful since we’ve been provided with so much good in our lives.
Why Practice Gratitude?
Even science has something to say about practicing gratitude. Practicing gratitude isn’t just a habit for Thanksgiving, but rather something we should all be doing all year around. Why should your practice gratitude? Because it makes you a humbler, more empathetic person.
When you’re grateful for what you have, there’s less room for negative emotions. You’re taking the time to focus on the good rather than the bad in your life. We live in a surprisingly and upsettingly negative world, and this can wear on you after long enough. You can beat this by practicing gratitude and showing how thankful you are to friends and family.
Make Time
The most important part of practicing gratitude and mindfulness is making time for it. Yes, you’re busy. Everyone is. But that doesn’t mean you should neglect your mental and spiritual health, which are connected, for the sake of a busy schedule. Everyone has five minutes to spare, and if you don’t, maybe it’s time to reassess where and how you’re spending your time.
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