Welcome to your meditation practice.
This session is all about pausing to recognize your positive efforts recently,
Rather than just congratulating yourself once you've achieved a result or fulfilled a goal.
By spending even just a short time noticing what went well,
We start to rewire our brains to see the good.
And it's so important to take time to recognize yourself,
To recognize the things that you've done right and the other things around you that are going right as well.
Find a comfortable place to sit and close your eyes if you'd like.
Take a deep breath in and exhale slowly arriving in this moment.
Let go of your to-do list and release the goals you haven't reached yet.
In a world that constantly asks us,
What have you done?
Or what's next?
Give yourself permission to pause right now where you are and let that be enough.
In this moment,
There are no metrics.
There are no scorecards or trackers.
There's just presence.
Be here right now,
Simply deepening your breath.
Start to think about a moment recently where you showed up well.
It's not about a big win or a final result.
Instead,
Just think about a behavior.
Maybe you showed patience when you were frustrated.
Maybe you put in a solid hour of deep work when you were really tired.
Maybe you supported a loved one or a colleague even when you were busy.
Recall that moment in your mind and gently replay it.
Acknowledge for a moment the effort that it took.
Even if it felt easy in that moment,
Still give yourself the credit for what you actually chose to do.
Say to yourself,
I see the effort I put in.
That was good.
Maybe you even sit a little bit taller as you let the feeling of pride in your own character lift you up.
That feeling isn't just reserved for huge wins.
You're allowed to be proud of yourself for choosing something small and choosing something positive,
For being supportive,
For doing something good.
Even the simplest of moments that often don't get rewarded belong here.
Things like you made a healthy meal choice when the temptations for something quick and easy could have gotten the better of you.
Fantastic.
Celebrate that.
You emptied the dishwasher when your wife had a long day and it made her smile.
Amazing.
That was a beautiful moment.
You got out of bed and went for the morning walk when it would have been so much easier to lay in bed and scroll on your phone instead.
Incredible.
That added to your well-being.
Think about the last couple of days and as you recall some of the choices that you made,
Some of the things that you did,
Can you start to recognize the good,
The little wins?
These little efforts that often go unnoticed deserve their moment in the spotlight too,
Because it's all of these little actions that add up to a life well-lived.
It's all of the little things that will get us to the big win.
Those small moments will help us achieve our goal,
And not just a goal that can be measured,
But also fulfilling the aim to be a good person or to be more helpful and supportive to those around you.
Now let's shift our focus outward.
Think of someone in your life,
A colleague,
A partner,
A friend,
And recall a specific positive behavior you noticed in them recently.
Maybe it was a small act of kindness,
Their consistent reliability,
Or the way that they listen or show up.
Hold the image of that person in your mind,
Maybe as though they are sitting here with you right now.
You might even smile a little and feel your heart lift in their presence.
Invite a sense of gratitude for who they are and how they show up,
Regardless of the big outcomes they produce.
Make a mental note to thank them later today if you haven't already.
Acknowledge the good not only in yourself and your own actions,
But in others as well.
By catching their good and reflecting it back to them,
You elevate them too.
And see if you can start to notice the small but really good moments in yourself,
In others,
And in life in general more often.
The amazing refreshingness of a cool glass of water on a hot day,
Catching a rainbow between clouds after it rains,
Smelling your morning cup of coffee or tea.
When we pay more attention to the good moments,
We start to notice them more often.
Take a deep breath in and let it out.
By taking this time,
You are actively training your brain.
You're building new neural pathways that scan the world for good rather than the negative.
You are intentionally engineering and designing your own inner world.
And when you build a more positive baseline for your mind,
You can rewire a default state of being and become the architect of your own mindset.
As we finish,
I invite you to set this intention for the rest of your day.
I will look for the good in myself and I will catch the good in others and the world around me.
Take one final deep breath and then slowly open your eyes and bring your awareness back into your day.
And as you head back into your day,
See if you can catch the good and continue pushing the edge of what's possible for yourself.
Thank you for practicing with me and I look forward to meditating with you again soon.
