Last week I blogged about the importance of pressing “Reset” for your body to get back on track(In case you missed it you can access it here)http://kevinbradyhealth.ca/6-ways-to-re-set-your-body/ . It is equally important to re set your mind daily so that you are in a great positive and happy state of mind.
I find that one of the easiest, quickest and best ways to re set your attitude is to think of all you have to be thankful for. To put it simply – Gratitude
Be thankful every day for what you have. Everyone has problems and issues and sometimes that is all we can focus on. By simply taking less than a minute each day to focus on all you have to be grateful for, you can have a tremendous impact on your health and mental well being.
Appreciate all you have
Life is magic and if we stop and look around, we have so much to be grateful for. Think of all you have personally to be grateful for – your family, your friends, your possessions, your relationships, your health, amazing nature all around us, a place to sleep etc. We have so much to be truly grateful for and often we don’t “stop” and think about it. The good news is that it is easy to do and takes less than one minute a day. I have been doing this so long that it is now a daily habit so I wanted to share with you how I build this gratitude exercise into my usually crazy hectic life.
How do I practice Gratitude in less than 1 minute per day?
1.The first way I incorporate gratitude is usually when I do some form of physical activity. It typically happens for me when I am in the outdoors running, cycling, skiing, hiking or simply walking the dog. I do my daily mantra which includes thinking about what I am grateful for. It varies day by day however I typically focus on being thankful for my family, my parents, my friends, my life and sometimes it is just simply that I am grateful for what I am doing at that minute in time.
I often think about my near death experience from my marathon in 1999 which makes me think how fortunate that I am just to be here and alive. I often think of how much life I would have missed had I not made it – watching my kids grow, spending all the amazing times with Barb, my family and friends, the business relationships I have formed, and the charities I have been involved in. I am so so lucky and am grateful for just being “here” and alive every day. It seems crazy but I never used to even think about this type of thing.
As a refresher, please refer to Thoughts That Can Change Your Mind Daily – http://kevinbradyhealth.ca/thoughts-that-change-your-mood/
2.Just Before I Go To Sleep
Just before I go to sleep each night, I think of 3 things that happened that day that I am grateful for. Every day no matter what happened or transpired that day, the last thing I do before I go to sleep is think of 3 things that I am thankful for. This could be something that happened that day, my health, my wife Barb, my children. It doesn’t matter what you focus on and can think of different things every night. The fact is that by just being grateful and expressing thanks and gratitude it puts me in a very relaxed and peaceful state of mind.
I find that focusing on these grateful thoughts prior to sleep each night allows me to just “drift” off to sleep and have an amazing sleep.
I ask that you try to build a “Gratitude” practice into your daily routine and I promise you that it will have an immediate impact on your outlook on life and your day.
Yours in Great Physical and Mental Health,
Kev
