7-minute guided gratitude practice for financial stress — in the office

About this practice

7 minutes to meet financial stress with less of a fight. A gratitude practice, in the office. A guided session of about 7 minutes, suited to all levels. Nothing is recorded and no account is needed.

What this works on: financial stress

Money worry runs at night, when there is nothing to do about it. The lack of any available action keeps the nervous system activated for hours.

It tends to show up as:

• Lying awake doing arithmetic
• A clenched stomach opening the bank app
• Irritability about small spending

At 2am there is no decision to make, only a night to get through. That is the whole job of this practice.

Doing this at your desk

• Feet flat, back supported, screen away from your eyeline
• You can do this with your eyes open if the office makes closing them awkward
• Unclench the jaw and drop the shoulders first, before anything else

Nobody needs to know you are doing it. Keep it invisible if that makes it possible.

How gratitude works

Gratitude here is an attention practice, not a demand for a positive mood. Attention defaults to threats because they are urgent, so pleasant and ordinary things get skipped simply for being safe.

• Pick one ordinary thing rather than something impressive
• Stay with it for two breaths — depth beats length of list
• Do not aim at feeling grateful; aim at noticing

What happens, minute by minute

1. 0:00Start with the noise that is already in the room. We are not going to try to remove it yet.
2. 0:17You can be as unimpressive as you like for the next few minutes.
3. 0:30There's a difference between relaxing and stopping. We're aiming for the second one, gently.
4. 0:44You can think about other things. When you notice, come back. That's the whole practice.
5. 0:58Let your breathing be boring. Boring is good here.
6. 1:09Let the in-breath be short and the out-breath unhurried.
7. 1:20Notice your fingers, one by one, starting with the little finger.
8. 1:32Notice your toes, starting with the big one on the left.
9. 1:44Let your thumbs rest wherever they landed.
10. 1:54Each time your mind hands you the arithmetic that will not balance, treat it like a leaf on a stream. Present for a moment, then carried on.
11. 2:14the worry that follows the bills may quiet down, or it may not. Either is fine. We are practising staying, not performing calm.
12. 2:32Notice the weight of your thighs, all the way down.
13. 2:44No need to open your eyes yet.
14. 2:54Notice the first breath of the day versus this one. They're the same mechanism.
15. 3:08Feel your hips. Wide, heavy, and doing nothing.
16. 3:19If you're irritated, that's allowed. Irritation is just weather.
17. 3:30I'll be quiet for a moment. Stay with the breath.
18. 3:42Nothing here needs to be efficient.
19. 3:52If you're thinking about the next thing on your list, that list will still be there.
20. 4:07Let the exhale fall out rather than pushing it.
21. 4:18A short silence. Let it be empty.
22. 4:28Remind yourself, slowly: I am safe in this moment, even while the fear about money in the night is here. Safety and difficulty can share a room.
23. 4:48Notice how the arithmetic that will not balance changes shape when you stop resisting it. Usually it gets smaller, not bigger.
24. 5:05Feel the slight stretch at the very bottom of the exhale.
25. 5:17If you're bored, stay with the boredom for a moment. It's usually thinner than it looks.
26. 5:32Notice the pull to make this mean something. It doesn't have to.
27. 5:45I'll leave a gap here. Use it however you like.
28. 5:57Small efforts are the whole method.
29. 6:07Notice whether you feel any different. If not, that's also normal.
30. 6:19Roll your neck once, slowly, in whichever direction feels good.
31. 6:31A few seconds more.

Questions people ask

Meditation is a practice, not a treatment. If you are dealing with ongoing distress, please also reach out to a professional.