Being present in the moment and acknowledging it are two different things. However, we can be good at both in a healthy well-being. So, here are 6 impressive ways to practice mindfulness and gratitude. Dive in.
“Be aware of what you see, what you listen, and what you speak. You might never know the consequences of your actions until they haunt you.”
– My father
That’s right. He said these wise lines when I was a teenager. There is nothing unique about this quote actually. It’s what many people would agree with the most in their lives.
So, I recalled this quote after two years of my hermit life that taught me a lot about living with an open mind. Of course, being a lazy and clumsy person as I am, it’s difficult to be mindful of things around me. Actually, I am just too ignorant (and I am not proud of that) 🙂
One thing that life has taught many people is the value of what we have right now, at this moment with us. To cherish and acknowledge it is one of the greatest pleasures we could ever wish for.
This is where gratitude comes into the picture with mindfulness in the sweet spot. Now, it’s just common sense that when you are in touch with your reality, i.e., present, you would always want to acknowledge and savor what you have. That’s how we form memories, right.
“Understand what you have, why you have, and stop living in regrets, for you already have much in store for you than you think in your wildest dreams.”
-My Unknown Teacher
So, here we shall discuss the 6 impressive ways to practice mindfulness and gratitude, and why should we do so. Let’s get to the next section.
Why is mindfulness and gratitude relevant even today?
Actually, nothing is relevant or irrelevant. That’s what I believe. We might regard something as beneficial or useless depending on the time of application. However, certain things stick with us for time immemorial. Mindfulness and gratitude are two of those qualities.
Both these qualities belong to our core personality. Depending on our outlook, we prioritize them in our lives. For instance, everyone loves a gentle and loving soul unconditionally due to his mindful and grateful nature. That puts these qualities in the league of personality traits.
Also read: 6 Insightful Ways to Develop Strong Personality Traits
But the important question remains to be unanswered. Why do we need these qualities? What are the reasons behind prioritizing them over other traits? Well, this is where we shall address these questions properly.
“Relevance is like fate. What we experience now is a result of our actions. Likewise, what is valuable now is a result of our own choices and opinions.”
-An acquaintance
Here are 3 reasons why are mindfulness and gratitude relevant even today.
1. They are an important aspect of self-love:
Who wishes to part with the journey of self-love? We are all the wanderers in the realm of refreshing waters representing love and acceptance. In other words, our generation has worked a lot to promote self-love and meaning to one’s life.
It’s no secret that self-love is important. But, if you think about it, mindfulness and gratitude are also a part of it. The individual has to go through the same experiences of getting in touch with everything around him. That makes him a lot better than he already is.
So, why are mindfulness and gratitude important? Well, they are vital for our existence of self-love and compassion. And, we bring the ultimate dealers of pleasure wouldn’t deny that.
2. They help us get past the negativity and regrets:
To be honest, I don’t think there is anything positive and vibrant than mindfulness and gratitude. Who wouldn’t want to be happy and content with the present? People carry a lot of past hurts only to be overwhelmed by them.
Negativity and regrets have often taken the best of us. Especially, when we make reckless and immature decisions. Hence, we need something to get these negativities off our chest. Practicing mindfulness and gratitude helps us to see things clearer and choose rightly.
In fact, most therapists and counselors advise their depressed and anxious patients to practice mindfulness and gratitude as much as possible.
Also read: Is Regret The Ultimate Gateway To Gratitude?
3. They promote practical understanding of things:
Practicality is nothing but an obvious understanding of the present. Real and factual things can be classified as the elements that represent our today. Mindfulness teaches us to cherish the welcoming thoughts in life without any interruptions.
Gratitude is practical as far as humility is concerned. However, both these qualities depend on the practical understanding of things. We can be both confused and amazed by the effects of these qualities on our lives.
So, the reason why mindfulness and gratitude are relevant today is that they foster and promote a practical understanding of things.
Here are 3 reasons why both mindfulness and gratitude are relevant in the long run. Now, let’s head over to the next section to discuss 6 impressive ways to practice mindfulness and gratitude.
What are some impressive ways to practice mindfulness and gratitude?
Impressive is not a term that I wanted to include for this subject but nothing else came to my mind so… Anyways, we have discussed the reasons why these qualities are relevant today. I must say they are pretty much necessary to discuss the highlight of this topic.
So, mindfulness and gratitude are not alien to human civilization. Most people might have heard about the eastern philosophies (and possibly western ones too, though I am not sure) propagating the idea of these qualities for years. It wouldn’t be wrong to say that humanity still exists due to the teachings of gurus.
However, more than reasons, it is fun to discuss the remedies or the ways to practice mindfulness and gratitude. Now, being happy, zany, and positive all the time isn’t a way to develop these qualities. Rather, it is better to go to the root of the problem.
“Living in a cave of dreams and ambitions is good until you realize that there is a path inside that leads to the inevitability of the reality.”
-An enlightened dreamer
Here are 6 impressive ways to practice mindfulness and gratitude.
1. Focus on making a healthy and productive day:
Most people think mindfulness is a spiritual journey or a practice. While there is nothing wrong with this idea, mindfulness can also be a healthy trait to adopt that doesn’t necessarily work on spiritual mechanisms. In other words, there are alternatives to foster mindful practices.
The first one is emphasizing a healthy and productive day. Yeah, I understand that it’s pretty common practice and doesn’t seem impressive, but most people aren’t aware of what they can do with their day. For instance, get up early, have a healthy breakfast, exercise, have a great bath, and prepare for the day with utmost confidence.
See, it takes virtually nothing to have a great day. All it takes is just an effort to get up from bed and start doing what you do best.
2. Bring some enthusiasm to life:
There is something I have wanted to address for a really long time. I have to get it off my chest now that I have got an opportunity. Our generation is so caught up with hectic and soul-sucking work routines that it has taken a toll on their personal lives.
Enthusiasm and excitement are getting rare day by day and we see many youngsters trapped in an unhealthy loop. So, if you really want to make a difference, go ahead and bring some excitement and energy to yours’ and everyone’s lives.
You don’t have to be crazy or maniac to be enthusiastic. Just give yourself a nudge out the door and see the magic work. I bet you would be surprised.
3. Interact with your environment as much as possible (CAUTION: NOT THE INNER ONE):
When I was a kid, my mother use to say, “Get out of your room and play with other kids…”. Sadly, I was a sloth who never wished to leave his bed. Actually, why would I? I had this fantastic dream world in my head where I believed I was the most gifted athlete of the century.
I would say this as a typical parent, “Do not spend your entire life in your inner world. Snap out of it and get out there to interact with others. It would be tough, it would be overwhelming at first but you will adapt.” I wish someone was there to teach me that.
The inner world is rich and imaginative and I wouldn’t trade for anything. But you can’t live in a world that has no reality or existence. It is better to face what you have got to face and take charge of your life. Lastly, you will be grateful to yourself for trying.
4. Stop going through life with autopilot mode on:
We see this tendency quite often when we bump into someone who doesn’t pay attention to his job. It’s what has been shown in popular culture and media several times. Each time we get to know about this fazed-out-version of humanity.
Living an automated life is worse than living a poor life. You have everything and yet you don’t pay attention to what is right in front of you. Nothing is more ironic than a person drifting along with life like a walking dead in the forest.
To all those people (including my brother), please stop living a robotic life and pay attention to what is going on around you. When you live a mindful life, you achieve a grateful life too. Keep that in mind.
5. Take initiative to get to know every sphere of life:
Let’s be honest. How many people are actually curious about multiple things in life? How do they see every sphere of life? Well, chances are many would justify their interests and hobbies and limit themselves to self-interests. This is something I have been guilty of myself too.
However, the world isn’t limited to self-interests. It is far more than what I believe, or what you believe. Hence, I would say that knowing every sphere of life is one of the best ways to foster mindfulness and gratitude. In fact, you don’t even have to be perfect at everything. Just try to be a jack-of-all-trades.
Some of the greatest personalities have stressed the need for knowing everything. Also, it’s a sign of high intelligence 🙂
6. Lastly, stay away from stress and develop inner peace:
This is the last, and by far, the most important way to achieve mindfulness and gratitude. What could be better than developing inner peace to cherish the present world? When our mind is polluted with stress and anxiety, we cannot be mindful of anything around us.
However, when our mind is clear, we see so many things as they are. In other words, we stop making impressions of things or stress ourselves with overthinking. Inner peace is a sure way to the healthy well-being of both mind and body.
So, the last point says it all. Everything that mindfulness and gratitude are based on clearly resonates with a clear mind with inner peace. The only way is to develop a thick skin to stressors and not let anything affect you negatively.
Also read: What Are The Ways To Stop Overanalyzing?
Final Words:
To sum up, you might find many articles, blogs, and books on developing mindfulness and gratitude. They sure are some of the best ways to create healthy well-being. However, the focus of my blog is to gain the power of perception over the oblivious mind.
The more out of touch we are, the more we need to follow the above ways and enjoy living a mindful life by acknowledging ourselves with a peaceful life.