If you are reading this right now, I encourage you to to take a deep breath and focus your mind on something that you are grateful for. This can be anything from a person, to an activity, to a resource, to your health. Once you have chosen something, notice how you feel and how your mind is reacting as you lean into this gratitude for a few moments.
Perhaps that felt like a corny mindfulness activity, and perhaps I’m biased to enjoying those because I’m a psychology major. But if you really let yourself feel that gratitude, then I’m sure some joyous feelings came from it.
In today’s day and age, there are plenty of trends and plenty of people that want to tell you how to live your life: wake up at 5 a.m., do a six-step skincare routine, tackle a crazy workout, take a cold shower, etc. It can get very overwhelming to try to do the most all the time. However, one trend that has really stuck with me has been the practice of gratitude.
A couple years ago, I began practicing gratitude by taking some time in the morning to write down three things I’m grateful for. It has felt particularly effective when I do this before checking my phone. The morning is such a precious time because it is a new day and your mind is a blank slate. If you start by filling it with reminders of all the things that add to your life rather than scrolling through social media to check in on everyone else’s life, then you have already started your day on the right note.
Of course I’m human, and I’d be lying if I said that I do this every day. But, I think that makes my point more valid because my mental health feels noticeably better on the days I take the time to practice gratitude than on the days I wake up and scroll through my phone right away.
With that being said, it can be easier to approach life with a gratitude mindset when things are going well. It’s when things aren’t going so well that it matters most to remember all that you have to be grateful for. I recently went through a breakup, and I found it very difficult to focus on my schoolwork or find happiness throughout the day when the majority of my feelings consisted of emptiness and reflection. But, at points I was able to zoom out and almost look at myself from an outside perspective, apart from the feelings of hurt. I noticed how many people were there to support me when I needed it the most; my parents called me during their working hours, my friend drove to my apartment and gave me a cookie, my brother told me how wonderful of a person I am, and my therapist happily scheduled an extra session for me.
I began this article by asking you to observe how you feel and how your mind reacts when you focus on gratitude, so it only feels right to end it by offering up my own reaction. As I typed that last paragraph, which reaffirmed how many people support me, my eyes began to water. I developed a lump in my throat that I had to swallow so that I didn’t cry. Then, there was a slight smile that crossed my face. I now feel overwhelmed with gratitude and love for those in my life, and it reaffirms that I am not empty or lost without being in a relationship. It might feel that way at times, but there is so much proof that shows me otherwise.
Whether it is writing down a few things that you’re grateful for first thing in the morning or actively choosing to focus on them during some of your darkest times, I think that this is a trend worth keeping around.
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