Being Thankful and Mindful

Being thankful and mindful is an easy thing that can make everyone feel better 

Why Should you be Thankful?

• Helps you feel more positive

• Improves your mental health

• Can build stronger relationships

• Shows that there are always good things in life

• Makes others feel better

Being thankful has so many positives. It’s also so easy to do. It’s as simple as saying thank you for a ride or to someone holding the door. There really is no reason to not be thankful. Even if you think your life isn’t great there is always one thing to be thankful about. Whether it is a family member, pet, or friend. Being thankful isn’t something just for Thanksgiving. You should try to be thankful all year. By participating in thankfulness you can see many benefits in your life. It can help you feel better in daily life and show improvements in your attitude. 

How to be Thankful

• Look and notice good things and appreciate them

• Compliment others

• Listen to others' opinions 

• Do something others like

• Be more present in the conversion

Being thankful isn’t a difficult task. It can take 10 seconds to say “you’re welcome” and “thank you”. Listening to others, even though you may not always agree with them, is a way to show you care about them. Being thankful shows you care and appreciate others around you, whether it is someone you just met or someone you've known your whole life. Being thankful can make you and others feel better. 

Why Should you be Mindful?

• Increase memory

• Leads to better learning

• Increases empathy

• Better emotional control

• Can help manage stress

• Help cope with a bad illness

• Reduce anxiety and depression

As you can see, there are many benefits to being mindful. It can help with so many things that people struggle with. Being mindful can help you deal with real things happening in your life. It can also help others around you. They can see that it can help them too. Being mindful can also make you more aware of things around you. Making you more aware of smells, tastes, feelings and sights. 

How to be Mindful

• Pay attention to the world around you

• Live in the moment instead of always thinking ahead

• Accept yourself for who you are

• Relax your mind with exercise

• Take a digital detox

• Engage each of your senses

By actually practicing mindfulness you can see many life improvements. It may seem difficult to do but just taking small moments from your day for these practices is enough. Being mindful can help so many aspects of your life. It can also help if you do these things with a friend or family member.

-----------

For more ideas on how to be thankful & mindful, check out SADD's resources on Mental Wellness sadd.org/programs or take the Imagination Project course on MySADD at sadd.org/courses.