We all seem to be dealing with too much stress. With all the craziness of the political situation and dealing with all the repercussions surrounding the coronavirus, it is no wonder that our stress levels are too high.
In the upcoming November Science of Mind Magazine, I discovered a great article describing a stress reduction practice called GAIN — a set of acronyms to describe the four steps. I am sharing it below:
A 3-Minute Practice for Resilience and Stress Reduction
Greg Hammer, M.D., shares a 3-minute mindfulness practice for gaining resilience and reducing stress in the November 2020 issue of Science of Mind magazine. He calls this practice GAIN, which relies on the four pillars of gratitude, acceptance, intention and non-judgment.
He explains the pillars this way:
- Gratitude. “We all have much to be grateful for. … As bad as things are, they could be much worse. We do indeed have reasons to be grateful.”
- Acceptance. “Let’s open our hearts to the pain and suffering of others and ourselves and abide there, accepting those feelings.”
- Intention. “Simply thinking of three good things that happened during our day as we prepare for bed each evening improves our sleep and happiness.”
- Non-Judgment. “The process of constantly categorizing and judging is exhausting and detracts from our happiness… Thankfully, there is an alternative — we can simply view the world and ourselves with open minds and hearts and adopt a sort of ‘benevolent indifference.’”
Dr. Hammer asserts that the GAIN practice can help us be more present, more mindful, more resilient and, thereby, happier.
The magazine article also shares the following concluding thought:
Three GOOD Things
Simply thinking of three good things that happened during the day as we prepare for bed improves our sleep and happiness. This practice is easy. We simply need to be purposeful and diligent in embracing it regularly.
I use this practice every night before going to sleep. It helps me counteract any negativity I may have absorbed during the day. Typically, I start my gratitude prayer with … “I am so happy and grateful for _____________ ”
Listing all the good things that happened that day (and it is often more than 3) calms my mind and helps me sleep. Great way to end the day!