Going on a Treasure Hunt

And a gratitude meditation practice.

Hello,

This week I am letting you in on one of my favorite wellness habits. It’s something I do at the end of each day. I have been doing for so many years that it’s become routine. It’s so simple you won’t believe it works, but if you do it consistently, it will. I promise.

Each night after I get in bed but before I go to sleep, I do two things:

First, I review my day.

I mentally recall the actions I took, and this part is critical—without judging them. I am not a stickler about including every little detail, and I try to keep it low-stress. Just a quick run-through of what went on, without getting bogged down in details or commentary. A little list of what I did during the day. That’s it. Spend about one minute doing this. If you realize later you left something out, that’s okay. Just notice that too.

As simple as it sounds, this step alone is life-changing. After a while, you start to get to know yourself better, without even trying. You will notice patterns and habits. Things you avoid. Things you may spend too much energy on. Things you repeatedly forget to include. Since you are being as objective as possible, unexpected things will become apparent. You still don’t need to judge, but you will have this information and can use it to make decisions about how to move forward. You are becoming more self-aware.

Another benefit is that by withholding judgment, you are training yourself to become non-reactive. We humans tend to get caught up and carried away pretty easily. We overcommit. We rush. We don’t get enough sleep and move around life in a tired state. We get frustrated. We forget to be patient. We react without thinking when other people say and do things we don’t like. We forget to give ourselves and each other grace. All you have to do is look at any comment section of any social media post and you will know what I mean.

Wouldn’t it be great if you could think first and then respond mindfully? This helps you do that.

Now for the second part of this wellness habit which is an extension of the same routine. Not only will it help you fall asleep, it will also facilitate a longterm positive shift in your daily mindset.