Oh what a beautiful morning,
Oh what a beautiful day,
I've got a wonderful feeling,
Everything's going my way.
—Opening Song from Oklahoma!
The other day I wrote about the importance of keeping motivation in the New Year. I mentioned one way to keep your motivating high is to be positive. I want to run with that idea here today and talk about it a little.
One way to encourage positive thinking is to be grateful.
Practicing Gratitude in the Morning
It's a great practice to wake up in a grateful mood. Of course we can't always control how we will wake up (especially if we have kids), but we can control what we think immediately after waking. I'm sure the first thought many of us have is something like, 'Argh—already???' before smashing the snooze button. I'm going to suggest a slightly different way of waking up.
It can be very beneficial to turn your thoughts towards gratitude immediately. You can do this either by journaling a few things you are grateful for in your notebook or by simply closing your eyes, taking a few deep breaths, and reflecting for a few moments on all that is good.
- "I'm alive and without any major medical problems."
- "I have a roof over my head and enough to eat."
- "My family loves me"
and so on. Thoughts like this. Even if the above aren't true for you, you can find something in your life that's good—be grateful for it.
However you do it, holding a feeling of gratitude will benefit you. Among other things, starting the morning with a grateful attitude helps reset our emotional state and puts us in a more positive mood--and a positive mood is a great starting point for the day.
Along those lines, here is a beautiful thought from the Dalai Lama about how to wake up, by reminding ourselves how precious human life is.
Source
A Precious Human Life
Every day, think as you wake up:
Today I am fortunate to have woken up.
I am alive, I have a precious human life.
I am not going to waste it.
I am going to use all my energies to develop myself,
to expand my heart out to others,
to achieve enlightenment for the benefit of all beings.
I am going to have kind thoughts towards others.
I am not going to get angry,
or think badly about others.
I am going to benefit others as much as I can.
—His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama
What a wonderful thought, eh? We would all do well to think something similar upon waking in the morning. I'll have more to say about this in the future, but for now I recommend holding the Dalai Lama's words in your head for a while and meditating on them. You have nothing to lose by being grateful and everything to gain.
“Choose to be optimistic, it feels better.”
—Dalai Lama
If you are the kind of person who likes to hang positive messages or affirmations around your house, here is a nice stitching of the quote for your wall: A Precious Human Life Scroll. Hanging it on a wall near your bed so it is the first thing you see might be a good way to remind you to be grateful.
Control What We Can
Waking up with that dose of positivity is important. I try to always do it. As mentioned above, kids make it more difficult, and for that reason I do my best to always wake about an hour before my kids. They wake up around 6am, so I set my alarm for 5am. Luckily I have an Apple Watch so the alarm just does haptic feedback tabs on my wrist until I wake up, not disturbing anyone else. I use this hour to do my Zazen meditation, fill out my daily obligations and schedule in my planner, and fill my mind with positive thoughts.
A lot of our day is outside our control. We do have control over our attitude and thoughts—I'm not suggesting otherwise—but we are often at the mercy of outside events. An angry boss, a delayed train, a screaming customer, a bully who cuts us off on the highway with little room to spare, etc. These things can wear at us and even the most positive among us may find themselves being affected.
This is out of our hands, so simply bear with it the best you can. Facing this and surviving it can be made much easier by starting the day with positivity, even overwhelming positivity. Start high so when the day tries it's best to take you down, you can withstand it.
Even in the worst situation, we do have at least some control over small moments. Use them to refresh your gratitude. As I mentioned the other day, I do this by writing a positive quote above the day's Bullet Journal entry and then every single time I consult my schedule throughout the day, I see that message and read it.
Practicing Gratitude before Bed
Besides the morning, the time of the day that we can most control is the evening. Before bed review the gratitude journal entry you made in the morning and add to it. Forget all the stress of the day and once again bring your mind to what is good in your life.
Here's another quote from the Dalai Lama:
“The fact that there is always a positive side to life is the one thing that gives me a lot of happiness.”
Absolutely! And going to bed happy is one of the best ways to continue your motivation and positivity.
Anyway, that's all for me today. Good luck with your practice and have a great day.
Misc
- Banner made from this image by Reimund Bertrams from Pixabay
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David LaSpina is an American photographer and translator lost in Japan, trying to capture the beauty of this country one photo at a time and searching for the perfect haiku. |
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