- Hi, my name is Sanaa Lathan, I'm an actor
and a producer and activist and this is my Thrive Diary.
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Right now I'm really inspired by being present.
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Anytime I'm feeling anxiety or anytime I'm feeling worried
or anytime I'm feeling scared or depressed,
it means I'm not here, I'm not here right now.
It means I'm going back into something in the past
or I'm going forward into something in the future
or I'm looking at something, comparing myself being present
is the only way that you can really have this.
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Well the first thing now which I think everybody needs
is just literally putting down your phone.
That's not being present if you're looking
at your phone every five minutes.
And you find that when you put it down no matter
how hard it is, it actually feels good.
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With the social media, we're not supposed
to be looking at everybody else's lives,
we're really supposed to be focused on our lives.
And as much as I love seeing what everybody else is doing
it can get into your head sometimes.
The thing that I do to counteract that
is just literally stopping
and saying okay, what are you grateful for?
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I've always dealt with things like, I'm strong
and then all of a sudden one day
I started having panic attacks,
I didn't even know what a panic attack was.
I thought I was having a heart attack
and the day that I started meditating they went away
and it was such a drastic change from three to five a day
to nothing after meditating just sitting,
there focusing on the mantra. It's I love you,
I'm sorry, please forgive me and thank you.
When I'm saying that in my head
I've been through some excruciating periods
where you just have to go through them
and use that mantra, it's been very helpful.
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There are so many ways to be present and mindful
and you can have anything from walking meditations
to mantras and whatever speaks to you, start there.
And you can start with five minutes a day,
I always tell people it's like brushing your teeth,
the benefits are subtle, just keep doing it and it's going
to just raise the quality of your life over time.
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