One of the best and easiest ways to rewire your brain into a space of where positivity abounds is through gratitude practices using mindfulness. Ah! Buzzword; mindfulness. Maybe you've heard of this before and like "meditation" you have no idea what that means. At least with meditation we know what it looks like, but how can we define mindfulness?
I like to think of mindfulness as being aware. Not alert! Just aware. It's an awareness that helps move your day along in a relaxing way. Taking notice of the environment around you through your senses is practicing mindfulness.
When I was first trying to be mindful, or more aware of my surroundings, I started with my morning routine. And I left it at my morning routine. Being mindful 24/7 is work! If you start small; though, it will eventually become a habit you can take with you throughout the rest of your day. I will walk you through what being mindful looked like for me during my morning routine.
My main focus was my cup of coffee in bed. I actually started with just this before moving into my entire morning routine. So, if you wanted to start even smaller than a routine, start with whatever you drink first thing in the morning; could be water! It all works!
A good rule of thumb for being mindful is to identify a certain number of things through your specific senses. The set-up goes like this: name 5 things you can see, 4 things you can touch, 3 things you can smell, 2 things you can hear, and 1 thing you can taste. This is just a template! If you can only hear 1 thing; do not panic! That is good enough. As long as you are identifying 1 in each category, you are on your way to mindfulness!
Before moving into your entire environment, you can start with one object and name something in each category for that. For example, coffee!
Coffee Example:
See: - White ceramic mug with black writing on the side that reads "San Francisco"
- Black/Brown liquid inside the mug
Touch: - Warm ceramic mug filled with coffee
Smell: - Fresh coffee grounds in the air
Hear: - Bubbling whenever I take a sip
Taste: - Black coffee
Using your environment is much easier to get those numbers up, so don't be surprised if you can't name too many things with just one object. Moving into my coffee routine and to my environment as a whole would look something like this:
See: - Picture of wall street bull and girl on my nightstand
- Busy city street outside my window
- My reflection in the mirror hanging on the wall across from me
- My dog snuggled up next to me
- My cat using the litter box
Touch: - My warm coffee mug in my hand
- The hair on my dog as I pet her
- The pillow behind my head supporting me as I sit up
- The bed beneath me
Smell: - Fresh coffee grounds in the air
- Fresh litter being displaced
- The jasmine wall plug
Hear: - Cars honking below me
- Morning music playlist in my headphones
Taste: - Black coffee
And of course I could go on to my entire morning routine and tell you all about mindfulness when brushing your teeth; which, if you're not a coffee drinker, start with teeth brushing!
It becomes easier to do the more you do it and sometimes you can name even more things than just 5! At first it seems like a chore, but eventually you'll notice just how much is going on around you which makes being grateful and practicing gratitude much easier.
What does having a gratitude attitude look like? It led me to thanking a random gust of wind in the middle of summer while I was walking to work. Like the universe had specifically sent that breezy respite just for me in that moment as I began sweating. The relief I felt! Someone deserved a thank you. Without my mindfulness practices, a breeze may have gone unnoticed by me; which, is why starting with mindfulness will help you generate a more grateful attitude toward your life.
Practicing gratitude helps us to notice the big and little things around us that help make us feel whole and happy. You'll become a more positive being with a more positive outlook because soon, you'll only be able to see a bunch of things you're super grateful for!
Take my coffee routine and turn it into a gratitude exercise. With each sense I could pick something to be grateful about. You can practice gratitude this way, or you can start with journaling in tandem with your mindfulness before merging the two together!
It's a lot easier to journal when you have prompts and there are a number of great resources available for free on therapistaid.com. Some of the prompts look like this:
Something I can be proud of...
Someone I can trust...
An experience that made me feel lucky...
You can find a plethora of these prompts on the website mentioned above in the "Emotions" section listed on the side menu to the left. There are all sorts of exercises there and explanations for how to be successful with them.
Being able to identify things to be grateful for throughout your day as a habit will lead to overall life satisfaction and relax you at the same time. Your glass will seem more than half full! Because you're the one filling it!
Through mindfulness we learn how to slow down and acknowledge what goes into having a successful day. We can use this time to pick out things to appreciate that maybe we hadn't considered being grateful for prior to now. Like, that gust of wind on that hot summer day! Being able to identify what we're grateful for builds a sense of oneness within ourselves and our environment. Suddenly, you'll feel as though the world is spinning just for you and is totally on your team!
Start with mindfulness and journaling every day. Start small and build. Before moving into specific prompts, start with just listing three things each night before bed that you're grateful for from your day. Better yet, keep your journal with you throughout your day and try to have 3 things listed before you get home!
Eventually these practices will be second nature and you won't even realize you're doing them! You'll just feel a little more put together, a little more supported by the universe, and you will have bolstered your capability of being grateful; which, feels awesome!
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