Afternoon Gratitude

Welcome to the Healthy Mindset App podcast where host Mike Hartman, a performance coach and former professional athlete, brings his passion to help athletes and workplace athletes achieve their dreams and goals while being mindful of everything else in life. Mike also uses this platform to share his targeted assessment applications. Healthy Mindset course, meditation and goal setting technique for the athlete and workplace athlete. We're glad you're here. Now let's dive headfirst into this episode of the Healthy Mindset App podcast. Here's your host, Mike Hartman.

This week on Stories of Gratitude, I'm going to talk about what we could do in the afternoon because we do have the mornings of gratitude. Now we're going to talk about the afternoon. And one thing I would like to share with you that I think it's important that you reflect your achievements. Take a moment in the afternoon to reflect on your accomplishments of what you did that day. No matter how small they are or how big they are, it's very important that you express that gratitude for what you were able to achieve. So that's one of the first things that I think it's very important is we always talk about the morning gratitude, but what about the afternoon? And the other thing I like to do personal is also talk about nature. I mean, I appreciate nature. I would go for a walk on the Greenway here in Charlotte, North Carolina. Whether it's just for a little bit, even if it's for 10 minutes or sometimes it could be 10,000 steps, but I just really observe the nature of it. One of my favorite things, if you, if you live by the ocean, you could do that in the afternoon as well if you have time to take a break. One of my favorite beaches in the world is Juno beach. And it's, it's in Florida, in Jupiter, Florida. I just love it. It's gorgeous. Love California as well, love the Pacific Ocean as well as the Atlantic Ocean, but really enjoy taking time to walk on the beach. So if you have time in the afternoon to get away, some do, some don't. That's something that's important. Appreciating nature or even looking out the window and appreciating what's there in the afternoon, the other thing I always believe in is count your blessings. Take a few minutes to really like make a list of what you're grateful for. It's the same thing in the morning. It could be your relationships, it could be opportunities, it could be somebody you met that day. It could be some of your personal qualities. These are a few things that you could help improve your Story, because everything's about a story. So the story of gratitude is about you. So count your blessings. Another thing is acknowledge positivity. Focus on the positive interactions and experience that you had throughout the day. And if you feel you haven't had any, I'm sure you could look back and it could be anything. I go to Starbucks every day and if I see somebody there that I know, I would say, hello, we're in a small town here in Charlotte, North Carolina, or even the workers that people that do work at Starbucks, I take the time to get to know their name. So I do that in the afternoon. Sometimes I know what people are thinking. Really? You have a coffee in the afternoon? Well, sometimes if I'm not going to be able to get my coffee in the morning, I'll try to get there, maybe even at 1:00'. Clock. And to me, it's something that I like to do, and to me that's something positive. And you have to find that thing within yourself as well to be positive. Express thankfulness, you know, reach out to someone and let them know that you appreciate them. I told this in a recent story in my podcast that somebody sent me a Starbucks card. And I thought it was so nice that they did that. Kim Angelia, I mean, just. I couldn't believe it. Just out of nowhere, she had my address and she sent me a card. And I thought that was just really nice. So you could express, you know, how thankful you are for that. Or you could thank somebody that has done something nice to you or maybe not even has done something nice. Just go out of your way and help them. Because, you know, even a simple thank you message can make both you and the recipient feel good. And to me, that's a part about, you know, having that story of gratitude. That could be your story, because what happens, I just shared a story from it. Mindful breaks during the afternoon are important. I think it's true that when we take these little breaks, it helps. I call that a ritual. Could be a habit that you could start doing. Taking a little walk. Sometimes we sit all day. We've talked about this before. And take a little break. Practice mindfulness, being present. Be in the moment. Appreciate the current experience that you're in, no matter what it is. Sometimes the afternoon has gone so quick for me that I said, oh, boy, now I got to get up and take a walk because I didn't do it. Sometimes I'm sitting for long periods of time and it could be two hours, and that's not the healthiest. Your hips get tight, your back can get sore. So take those mindful breaks because it's definitely going to help you. And I've said this even in the morning, but why not write something in the afternoon like gratitude journaling. Keep a journal where you jot down things that you're thankful for in that afternoon. It helps reinforce your positive mindset. I'm so big into that some people use their phone and I'm not too into that really. I like to get away from technology. It's all we do is we're staring at our phones or computers. So I so take the time to get away from that. And to me, journaling is important. I'll journal something that was positive that day. Even if I had a workout in the morning, I have the first thing I do, I journal early in the morning. But now in the afternoon, I might even take a note to say I'm thankful for that workout. I feel great. I feel energized today. And one thing too, that we don't do enough. And I talk to athletes and workplace athletes about this a lot. Celebrate your progress. We called it before. Celebrate your wins in the afternoon. Acknowledge progress made towards your goals that day. Something could have happened. Show gratitude for the journey that you're in, not just the destination. This could bring a sense of fulfillment to you and really make you feel good. Like say, okay, boy, today was a positive day. This is what I got done. And celebrate that progress. Or if something happened, you may have closed a sale that afternoon or you were told you're an athlete and you were just told something good, that you just made the team or whatever it may be. Celebrate that. And for me, I always look at the simple pleasures. I try to keep everything simple with the old acronym what kiss? Keep it simple, stupid. Keep it sensibly simple. But enjoy the simple pleasures of life. Find joy in the simple things like, like I said, a warm cup of tea if you like tea, or just a quiet moment, that's the simplest thing. Just express yourself that way and that that's expressing gratitude for these everyday pleasures and it really does enhance your overall well being. And the other thing I want to share is, you know, we talk about gratitude stories and I do believe everybody has a story. So share that gratitude. Consider sharing your feelings of gratitude with friends and family. Express it. You know, it creates a positive atmosphere, encourages others to reflect on their own blessings. So I hope this has helped you. To me, this is just a short way of doing things in the afternoon. Sometimes we don't really think about that too much because we're so caught up and in the everyday hustle and bustle. Or if you're an athlete, you're not really. You could be in school and obviously you can't take breaks. You're a high school student. You just can't take a break when you want to take a break. But if you do have a break and you do have a little bit, just reflect on things that you're grateful for. I hope this has helped. Any question, please reach out or go to healthymindsetapp.com we also have the book on Amazon, the Healthy Mindset for Athletes and Workplace Athletes and love to help you in any way. Have a great day and looking forward to next time.

We're so glad you joined us for this episode of the Healthy Mindset App Podcast with your host Mike Hartman. If you're enjoying the show, please feel free to rate, subscribe and leave a review wherever you listen to your podcasts. That helps others find the show and we greatly appreciate it. To dive deeper and learn more about the Healthy Mindset program or to get in touch with Mike, please Visit our website, healthymindsetapp.com thanks again for listening and we hope you'll join us again in the next episode of the Healthy Mindset App Podcast. Until then, be well.