Living mindfully in each moment allows us to choose how we approach life and its turns. An optimistic outlook shapes how we see the future. Optimism is a learnable skill. It is worthwhile to remember to feel gratitude for our past and what is now. With a positive mindset we experience that challenges are opportunities for future learning, opportunities for growth and help us to find our inner resources. Our mindset and attitude reflect on how we perceive our lives. Thus, it is valuable to be aware with what kind of energy and thoughts we live by as that way we can influence our environment instead of drifting in life.
An optimist deals better with adversity. With a positive mindset we generally feel better and think of the future in more positive manner and we expect good things to happen. Optimists also actively take concrete steps for action. Optimism gets you to a positive-feedback loop. As we start to recognize this loop it is easier to work for our dreams and goals. When positive things happen to an optimist we take credit of them. And with negative events happening we experience them as temporary, singular events. The studies also reveal that optimists are more energetic, resilient, alert and less-stressed.
Optimism is a skill we can learn keeping us happy and healthy.
A pessimist gives external reasoning when positive things happen. “Others were not very good that is why I succeeded”. And with negative things happening a pessimist puts blame on oneself. “I am no good, no point doing this”.
“A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity and an optimist sees an opportunity in every difficulty”
– Winston Churchill
Feeling gratitude helps us grow and heightens feelings of meaningful life. It is about how you tell your story. Living with a mindset of gratitude, life is not just about us anymore but more of feeling connected to others and to the world. Gratefulness has many benefits. Studies show grateful people have more positive emotions, feel more energized and have a desire to build strong relationships. It has been reported that grateful people tend to be more spiritual as almost all spiritual traditions value the importance of giving thanks. By feeling gratitude you experience physical changes in your body such as relaxation and gracious feelings. As you feel grateful it is not possible to be same time worried nor fearful. Expressing acts of gratitude helps ourselves and others around us, so it helps larger society as well.
Practise following
What is one way I can start to practise mindfulness today? Choose a little daily routine that you focus on such as brushing your teeth, making your morning coffee or putting your feet on the floor as you wake up in the morning. Remember everyday is filled with opportunities to remind yourself being present and awake.
Set a tone for your day by starting gratitude journaling in the morning . Write down 5 things you are grateful for, find different things each time. Really feel them as you write.
Mindful living allows us to be aware of present moment facilitating us to see our past with gratitude and looking into future with positive mindset. Cultivating and practicing optimism we expect good things to come and we take concrete steps to make things happen. It helps us to maintain hopefulness and gives energy in moments of adversity. We can influence our lives with these practices helping us to grow, stay healthier, happier creating feeling of well-being shining to all areas of our lives. Living mindfully, with gratitude and positive mindset requires daily practice just like any other skill.
Originally published at medium.com