I want to share a three-letter mnemonic I apply to my own life every day – making every day a G.E.M. – Gratitude, Exercise, and Meditation.
I’ve previously discussed how as human beings, we’re wired to operate in a “default dejected” state of mind. By default, if we don’t carefully cultivate our mindset, take care of our body – we’re going to be stressed, complain, and run around scared or judging ourselves or others.
Basically, we’re going to be shitty human beings, or in a softer way, we’re going to be less than ideal versions of our highest selves.
I believe we each have an inner capacity to show up at an extremely high level.
Each of us has the power to be deeply inspiring to ourselves, to our families, to be great leaders for our teams.
But to do that, you need to genuinely sculpt yourself and build a daily practice.
G is for gratitude
It’s doing something to get into the state of gratitude every day – to really be thankful that I’m alive, start rewiring my neurons and orient my thought process towards “what is going right?”, “what I am thankful for?” no matter what’s happening.
When I find it very, very difficult to be grateful, it serves as a canary in a coal mine and I tell myself, “Okay, Uri, be very careful today because your personal ego or some negative or scared part of your mind has gotten hold of your focus and consciousness. Be extra sensitive about that.”
As for grounding yourself in gratitude, there’s a great short exercise from Tony Robbins called “priming” (see here). It’s a wonderful way to start your day.
E is for Exercise
Taking time to do anything physical – whether pushing a heavy weight to a new level, some kind of cardio, even just taking a walk and stopping for a second, looking up at the vast expanse above – and remembering for a moment that I am just a blip on a rock spinning in the middle of empty space.
Solve your problems and engage with the world from that place and see the difference.
M is for Meditation
There’s many different ways of doing this.
Some of the things that have resonated most with me is 20 minutes of transcendental meditation (hey, even Jerry Seinfeld does it, hehe).
There’s also a powerful yoga practice called Kriya Yoga that I really love (it’s an exercise from Yogananda’s Self Realization program), or just sitting for a few minutes, watching my thoughts or doing a Headspace app audio track or listening to a talk on Insight Timer.
You can even use dishwashing or chores as an opportunity to move mindfully through all that’s on your plate. When I find it tougher to just sit down, I love throw on a great Eckart Tolle talk in the background (like this powerful retreat, recorded right after September 11) – often just his voice can snap me back into presence.
The point of meditation is to take a moment – ideally at the start and the end of the day – to be in control of your mind, watch what flavor of thoughts are coming up, and ideally, build a happy and nourishing daily practice.
Find a meditation practice you love
Meditation practice should not be a brutally intense and unenjoyable task.
Many people love Zen. For others, the strict approach is not really fun.
Find something that you really love that becomes a kind of sanctuary, a sacred and personal moment of time just for you.
Even if it’s only five or ten minutes a day, that’s your time – it’s your time to turn off the stimulus of the world and reconnect with your inner self. Ideally do it early in the day or the end of the day, to give yourself bookends and put yourself back in charge of your mind – not the other way around.
That’s how I make every day a G.E.M. It’s been a simple yet powerful personal practice, and I hope it works wonders for you too.