Practicing Gratitude and Mindfulness

One habit/mindset I’ve been trying to get better at is being more grateful and present in the moment.

I saw/heard on TedTalk that we spend 47% of our time with wandering minds. But that we’re less happy when our minds are wandering. 

"When people were mind-wandering, they reported feeling happy only 56% of the time. Meanwhile, when they were focused on the present moment, they reported feeling happy 66% of the time." 

Even if it’s driving to work. You’re going to be happier if you are present rather than letting your mind wander to other things.  

While I’ll always be a daydreamer I want to put a conscious effort into not distracting myself and not letting my mind wander too much. 

So, in the realm of staying present and grateful I wanted to share a list of some simple things I’m doing at the moment: 

+ Time and time again I have heard the benefits of keeping a gratitude journal. Currently this is my "Sparkly Bits” page in my bullet journal. Each day I’ll think back to those little moments I was thankful for. The more consistent I am with this the more present I am during the day. Something will happen and I will have the where with all to recognize it, step back, and enjoy it in the moment. 

+ I’ve been running lately. And I find that the first two miles are the hardest of my run so I’ve started a new thing. I now spend the first mile of my runs saying all the things I’m grateful for. 

+ Sometimes you’ll catch yourself letting your mind just wander and for me I have a new phrase that helps me come back to center. “Be Here.” It’s what I will say to myself to remind myself to be present, to quit thinking about a million other things, and to notice what’s happening around me and within my own body. 

+ Most of us set goals for ourselves. But I find that a lot of the time they are either unreachable, far off, 5 - 10 years down the road sort of goals. And while it’s great to set those long term goals, I think it’s even more important to set goals that have a short timeline. Then after you’ve found something you want to work towards take the time to list the tangible steps you can take day to day to reach that goal. 

+ Meditate. There are countless benefits surrounding being present in the moment and grateful when it comes to meditating regularly. Not to mention it just helps with stress and anxiety. Do it. 

+ When I get those moments of gratitude I stop and soak in all the senses. The other weekend I went camping with some of my girlfriends and while waiting on another friend to go to the bathroom I just remember looking up into the sky, closing my eyes, breathing in the smells and listening to the sounds. 

+ Limiting myself on social media. While I love Instagram it can be a black hole of "oh let me just look really quick" and then 30 minutes later you come to. While I'm not going to give it up I want to be more conscious with how I'm using it rather than letting it use me. 

Now, what are some of the positive effects I’ve noticed from doing these different things?

+ I just feel overall happier and thankful for what I have rather than spending so much time worrying about what I don’t have. And would you guess it, like attracts like, ad with that positive attitude I’ve attracted more of what I want in life. 

+ I feel calmer, more steady. I don’t really get stressed out, but do get anxious here and there. But I feel like I have a better grasp on it and am able to calm myself. 

+ I enjoy the things I’m doing more. Whether that’s something fun like being with friends or something like running or cleaning. I had a moment of gratitude stirring a bowl of dough last night, seriously.

It can be so easy to just allow our lives to be frantic, hectic and stressful. And while I’m not saying this is going to fix bigger problems in our lives, it can’t hurt to have control over our perspective of situations.

What do you do day to day to practice gratitude and stay mindful?  

Finding Gratitude In Work | Even When It Sucks

I had a few moments during my last vacation where I found myself thinking, I’m so excited to get home so I can get back to work. Normally, I still work during “vacations” but this one had me totally disconnected from internet access. 

And each time after I found myself having this wishful thoughts about being back home, sitting, working away, I would stop myself and fully appreciate the gratitude I felt for being so excited by “work”. 

I mean, how incredible is it that while on vacation the thought of getting back to work excites me so much. It has the same feeling as the anticipation for going on a big trip. 

This sensation has been years in the making, and that’s something I want to talk about today. Because even if you have a job that you aren’t totally in love with, yet aren’t quite in the position of quitting just yet, I guarantee there is at least one or two aspects of it that you can look at and say, yeah that right there, I’m grateful for that part of my job. 

For some people this is benefits, or maybe the consistent structure of 9 - 5, or even for others the flexibility to stay home with a sick child if need be. While the mundanity of day to day tasks can cause us to slip into a fog of, "bleh this sucks" I challenge you to once a day pull yourself out of this, stop for a moment and find one thing to be thankful for. 

We’ve all had jobs that we didn’t enjoy or detested all together, and just going to work gave us that pit of anxiety in our chest and stomachs. But we’ve also had jobs that we’ve loved, and still found ourselves in moments of “I really don’t want to do this today.” 

Even now, in the midst of something I could only dream about for many years I find myself every now and then unmotivated to do the tasks set out for myself, by myself, for the day ahead. 

But I have gotten really good at recognizing these moments almost as soon as they happen. And I quickly stop myself from whatever it is I’m doing, and place myself smack in the reality of it. Why am I feeling these negative feelings in that moment, and what can I do to change my attitude about the situation. And often just the act of stopping and thinking is enough to realize, “Hey, this whole set up you’ve got going for yourself right here is pretty freaking amazing.” 

But sometimes I will recognize a reoccurring feeling that arises from these moments of thought. Recently there was a lot of feeling lonely. And guess what? I have complete control of that. What could I do, what could I add to change that feeling. And the answer was simple — social interaction. This is a common complaint of those working from home. While we love the freedom and flexibility of it, we often crave having someone around to talk to, whether that’s to bounce our ideas off of or to sit and have a conversation about something totally unrelated. 

So, I’ve made it a point to schedule weekly coffee dates, “co-worker” days with two of my friends who also work from home, as well as to plan a girls night every other week or so. Another easy way I’ve found to relieve some of this feeling of being lonely is to simple head out to a coffee shop to work for a few hours. The sensation you get from being around people, having a chat with the person who takes your order or makes your coffee, and the probability to see a friendly familiar face is enough to make the $5 cup of coffee worth it to me every now and then. 

I think the biggest lesson I want you to take away from reading this is that if you are unhappy in a situation don’t just sit there and continue on with it. Take the time to step away and really ask yourself what it is that you are lacking? What do you need? And at the same time asking yourself to find something positive, even in the midst of feeling so crummy about the day. 

This can seem like a steep task when you find yourself in the same routine day after day, doing the same things day after day. 

I actually find that there are certain aspects of a daily routine I crave, and will find myself missing if I don’t make time for them. 

The biggest being my morning journaling routine. I always feel a little off kilter if I don’t have time in the morning do sit down and write. 

I also feel a positive impact when I make time for an afternoon break (usually around 2 p.m.) for a bit of yoga, stretching and meditation. 

So, first identify those elements of day to day life that you enjoy. It’s as simple as a cup of coffee and reading the newspaper or a early morning workout routine. Whatever it may be, get clear on what it is you want to keep. 

Next, look at maybe something you could eliminate from your routine that doesn’t really bring you any added benefit or joy. 

And then you can look at what elements you want to add to your day. What is something you can start doing that will brighten your day. For me it was more time with those I love and enjoy spending time with. For you it might be a 20 minute walk in the park, or taking the time to read a good book for an hour in the afternoon. 

Can you apply this same frame of thinking to your responsibilities at work. Yes, there’s probably certain daily tasks that you can’t get out of, but maybe there are some that you can, and maybe there’s others that you can add. 

Ask for more responsibility, propose a new project, whatever it may be. 

And don’t forget to find the happy bits each day. What aspect of your job are you grateful for today?