How to Make Good Memories Last
“Take as a gift whatever this day brings forth.”
~Horace
Many years ago, when my husband and I were preparing for our wedding day, a friend told me something I will never forget. She reminded me that this would probably be one of the only times so many people who were so important to us would come together to celebrate us.
Her advice was to, several times throughout the night, lean back and soak it all up—to take a mental photograph of the scene and fully appreciate what we were experiencing. Unbeknownst to me, this was my first introduction to mindfulness, and the art of consciously creating and experiencing what I now call Miraculous Moments.
The moments during our wedding celebration when I made a point to be fully present are as clear to me today as if they just happened. Research shows that mindfulness can deepen our relationships, reduce our stress, improve our health, and increase our motivation to make positive life changes. I have found mindfulness can also help the good stuff last longer (at least in our psyche), and improve our overall perception of our lives.
As we go throughout our lives, it can be helpful to remember that no matter what is happening around us, we have the option to lean back (figuratively or otherwise), find things to be grateful for, and fully experience our gratitude with all of our senses. When we do this, colors become richer, sounds become clearer, beauty and blessings become magnified, and we realize that what we could have overlooked as mundane is really miraculous—ready and waiting to be remembered forever.
This technique doesn’t only seem to enrich happy moments, it can also be a powerful technique for turning things around–helping us to stop negative habits, thoughts or feelings in their tracks, and to make more positive choices instead.
How to Create a Miraculous Moment
Here are five steps you can turn any moment into a positive memory.
- Pause
- Take a deep breath
- Notice what you are experiencing with all of your senses right now
- Look around and really notice at least three things you are completely grateful for in this present moment.
- Fully experience your feeling of gratitude for these things as deeply as you can
By doing these five things, we can not only improve the quality of our memories, we may also enjoy our lives more too.
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Have you tried this technique? I’d love to hear how it works for you. Share your experience below.
Photo credit: Goran Bogicevic/Shutterstock
