A Very Simple Meditation of 3 Minutes For A Happier Life!
This meditation can be done by adults and kids who are able to write. It is not your usual gratefulness or journaling exercise, but a more profound meditation, which although incredibly simple, can lead to a happier life. All you need is pen and a notebook (choose a light one if you travel a lot so that you can take it with you).
This meditation exercise should be done in the morning within 30 minutes of waking up, in order to reflect on the day ahead. If for some reason you were not able to do it that morning, then you can do it at the end of the day reflecting on the day that has passed. First of all start by writing the date at the top of the page. Then there are 3 components to this 3 minutes to a happier life meditation, each taking 1 minute to complete. They go as follows:
1st minute: write down the first 3 things you can think of that you’re grateful for (not the things that you are MOST grateful for in your life). So perhaps it’s the fact your partner didn’t snore, some aspect of the day ahead, the sound of the birds, the fact you have running water when others don’t etc. One or two of the points might appear regularly, but try to make them instinctive. The point is to write them down and spend the rest of the minute thinking about them while smiling. This is the first important minute of your 3 minutes for a happier life.
2nd minute: write down 3 things that you would like to feel or do less of today eg. get angry, smoke more than…, be impatient, eat sweets, swear, stay at work late, shop online etc. Write them down and then say them aloud, ‘Today I will… less’, and then spend the rest of the 1 minute reflecting on them. Just by conjuring up these 3 things in your mind, saying them aloud, and reflecting on them for a few moments, reinforces them in your mind and means that you are less likely to do them. You should feel empowered to be happier, kinder or healthier. This is the second important minute for your 3 minutes to a happier life.
3rd minute: here you do the complete opposite by writing down 3 things that you would like to feel or do more of today eg. be more compassionate, patient, calm, eat more vegetable, drink more water, drive slower etc, you get the idea. Then you’re going to say them aloud and spend the rest of the minute reflecting on them and reinforcing them to yourself. Again this will make it more likely that you’re going to actively try to do these 3 things today. It will make you feel stronger and more positive and hence is the third important minute in your 3 minutes for a happier life.
All 3 are a fundamental part of your 3 minutes for a happier life, and should be done in that order, so that you start and finish with something positive, and the more negative reflection of yourself is sandwiched in the middle. And if you have a bit more time, then take a few more minutes with your eyes closed, reflecting on these 9 points. This is a meditation exercise that I came up with a while ago that I practice myself and will get my clients to do on my meditation and yoga retreats, kids 8+ that I teach, and students on my teacher training courses.
Expressing gratitude has been shown to have many positive effects on our life and there have been many studies done to prove this. Benefits include increasing happiness, optimism and productivity and even strengthen relationships. There have also been studies to show the long lasting positive effects on the brain of people who express gratitude daily. And by consciously reflecting on what you’d like to do or feel less and more of in your day, will reinforce this in you and help you be a better version of yourself.
So give this a go for a couple of weeks to see the positive effects it has on you, and encourage others in your household to join you. Please share this article with others that you think could benefit from it and write me a comment below to let me know how you get along. After all it’s only 3 minutes, so what have you got to lose?
