One Sentence Gratitude Practice
One Sentence Gratitude Practice allows you to do the best you can in the present moment, to help you through anxious days.
I can be a worrier. I tend to get anxious easily. And when I am in an anxious state, I cannot function. I obsess. I am consumed. One morning, as my mind was playing out scenes and events to worry about, I paused and remembered to apply what yoga has taught me: anchor in the present moment. And I came up with this: One Sentence Gratitude Practice
One Sentence Gratitude Practice
To do this, you must focus on your present. Where was I? What I was doing? My answer was ” I am changing my son’s diaper” Now, here is the gratitude practice part, try to wring out at least three things I can be thankful for within that sentence.
Here is what I came up with: I am Changing My Son’s Diaper means:
- I have a baby son.
- My baby is pooping well.
- I am mobile and well enough to change my baby’s diaper.
- We have money to buy diapers.
- This situation is not life-threatening.
Obviously, I was able to list more than three, and could definitely list more. The point is, we may have lots of worries and troubles at any given time, sometimes we have them every day (hands raised). But usually or most of the time actually, those troubles are not actually in the present moment with us. They are in our minds.
If we come to think of it, our fears and worries are not because someone’s presently running towards us with a knife or something similar. The present moment is not usually something to fear. Our fears are fears of the future. The things we imagine that’s coming to us. The scenarios of the future we play in our minds.
But here is an empowering thought: the future is not guaranteed. The next day, next hour, the next three minutes of our lives are not guaranteed. Therefore, those things that you worry about, there is no guarantee that they will actually come into your life. And even if you are sure that they will, you worrying about it today will not improve anything. All we have is the present moment.
I know this gratitude practice is easier said than done, and I totally get that. I myself slip in and out of my own pool of worries from time to time. But as I sit with this moment of empowerment, I write this for you, but also for me, to drag us out of the worry pool from time to time. You can also check out The Benefits of Writing in A Gratitude Journal.
So what is your one sentence today? Within it are lots of things to be thankful for. Moment by moment, one thought at a time, You can do this.
Need more? Read on Stillness and Power of Thoughts.
