30 Seconds a Day to Feel More Grateful
Pausing once a day can help you live a better life
So there is this thing that I used to do. Some people might call it weird. Other people might label it a waste of time. I myself kind of forgot that I was even doing it and let it fade off into the background until I had forgot that it was helping me.
Once a day I stop for 30 seconds and appreciate something.
That’s it! 30 seconds each day and I swear it made a difference in my life! Sounds SO simple but it takes discipline and intentionality but when I was consistent I honestly felt better, if even for a small part of my day. It was often a little mid-day pick-me-up or relief from a busy or oppressing work day.
How it Works
At some point in the day I would stop everything, and I mean everything, and focus on something in the world around me and spend a solid 30 seconds just focusing on that thing. It could be something that I could see, like a bird perched in a tree or grass blowing in the wind. Sometimes I would close my eyes and just listen to the kids plating at the school nearby or the sounds of a creek. Every now and then I would even just enjoy the flavor of a specific food or drink.
The important part is, I would stop doing what I was doing, stop thinking about everything that was on my mind and focus on a simple thing that was in the world that made me happy. When I first started this practice, I assumed that spending a few seconds every day would help me stay in a better mood, but it had a bigger impact on me than I expected. I think there were three reasons that a 30 second timeout had such an impact on me.
A Positive Influence
First and foremost, it was a light in my life. The things that I was picking to experience and focus on were things that made me feel good, or I appreciate. I am surrounded by a world full of amazing things and I rush past most of them to get to where I need to be. Stopping and intentionally dedicating time to these little experiences forced me to enjoy my world and appreciate what I had rather than what I was chasing.
Choosing to dwell in a little bit of positive stimulation and let that be the only thing that I was experiencing was an amazing way to lift myself up!
Succeeding at Something
I have a lot of things on my plate that just never seem to end. I have long-term projects at work, unending chores around the house, and personal projects that never seem to end. It is nice to give myself a task that I can finish in less than a minute. Giving myself the goal of doing it every day means I can “cross something off the To Do List” every single day! Even better, I can keep track of how many days in a row I can do it, too! Can I keep this up and dedicate 30 seconds to feeling good every day for a week? How about a month? A year??
Regardless of how many days in a row, just telling myself I am going to do it and then actually doing it felt good, every single time!
A Reminder of the World Around Me
I don’t want to sound narcissistic, but I can forget that I live in a world that is bigger than my life. It is so easy for me to stay focussed on what is going on at my work, in my home, and in my head, and forget that there is so much more to the world. Stopping and choosing something around me to enjoy was a shock to my system. I intentionally try to look for something that I did not create and does not connect to what I am doing. I was intentional about finding something that was bigger than me, that I did not or could not fully understand, and just sit in that.
We live in an incredible world. If we don’t stop and enjoy it, we will miss how amazing it is.
My Challenge to You
Start today. Stop what you are doing for 30 seconds… that’s half of a minute… 1/120th of an hour… .034% of your day! Pick something in the world around you. Something that is not tied to your job or who you are. Pick something that you can admire for what it is, and just sit with it. Think about how it came to be. Think about how it affects you (what does it feel, smell, sound or taste like?). Think about only that thing for half a minute.
When you are done, go back to what you were doing and mark it as a completed task today and carry the positive feeling with you until tomorrow!
Are you up for the challenge? Let me know if you are in!
I love this. It made me go looking for an app that would randomly pop a reminder for me that could help me develop this habit.