The Most Underrated Tool for Living a Happier Life
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How often do you find yourself longing for more or feeling unsatisfied in various aspects of your life?
Welcome to this episode of the Embrace Your Real podcast. In this special Thanksgiving episode, we're going to dive into the transformative power of gratitude. If you've ever felt the pressure of constantly wanting more or believing that happiness lies in external possessions, this episode is for you. Learn why developing a gratitude practice is the simplest way to live a better life and how it can shift your mindset from scarcity to abundance.
If you loved this episode, be sure to check out…
Episode 6 - How to Take Control of Your Day and Live a More Positive Life
Episode 192 - The Science behind a Gratitude Practice (It’s Not as Cliche as You Think!)
If you want more from me, be sure to check out...
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Transcript:
[00:00:00] Hey, beautiful human. Can I steal five minutes of your time? I have something super important to share with you, but I promise I'll be really quick. You're listening to my weekly bonus episode of Embrace Your Real with me, Julie Ledbetter. I'm about to give you a quick tip for building your confidence, honoring your body and unconditionally loving your authentic self. Stay tuned if you're ready to embrace a real. Let's get it. Let's go. [00:00:22][22.5]
[00:00:28] Hello and welcome back to another bonus episode. Well not just any bonus episode, today is a Thanksgiving. The time that you are tuning in to this. It is Thanksgiving 2023. And before we dive into today's episode, I just want to take a moment to say how thankful I am for you. Every single one of you guys, I cannot put into words how much you mean to me, how grateful I am for every single one of you each and every day. I mean, the beautiful souls that listen to this podcast week in, week out, I hear from you and you are strong and you are capable and you're so smart and you're beyond worthy and you're lovable. And I want you to know that I'm so thankful for exactly who you are and how you are and what you are, which I believe is a child of God. And you have so much to offer this world. And you blessed me every single day by tuning in and week in and week out by the messages that I receive from you guys in my direct messages box and my Facebook group and inside my movement with Julie app. I mean, you guys are the real deal and I'm so grateful for you. So on the topic of gratitude in today's episode, I want to dive into the simplest way to live a better life. [00:01:41][72.3]
[00:01:41] Can you guess at what that is based on what we talked about? Gratitude? Yeah. Having more gratitude and developing a gratitude practice is the most effective way to live a better life. Hands down, if you don't believe me, stay tuned because I'm about to change your mind on this topic. But before we dive in, I wanted to share this review. It comes from Nicole Agostini. Now I think I pronounce that right. She gave a five star review and said, Love this podcast. Straightforward, useful, easy to understand content. Julie's presentation is natural and she has a knack for connecting with her audience. I love the information and also appreciate the high quality audio as well as the clarity of Julie's voice. The whole experience is enjoyable. Thank you, Julie, for teaching us so well through the podcasts. I love this so much. Thank you so much, Nicole, for taking time out of your day to send this in and also send all of those lovely notes. You guys are so great. I could not be more grateful for you and just taking time out of your day to send in a review. I know that your day and your time is so valuable, so thank you in advance for doing that. If you haven't already, you can switch over to Apple Podcasts and liberating interview over there. Okay, so let's dive into today's episode on Gratitude. So the number one reason why the majority of us are unhappy is because we believe we don't have enough. But when we develop greater gratitude, it actually turns into what we have is enough, and it flips that script in our mind. Let me repeat that again. Gratitude turns what we have into enough. So before gratitude, we think that we need to be skinnier. [00:03:16][95.2]
[00:03:17] We need to have a better car. We need to have more money in the bank. We need to have a bigger house. We need have more friends. We need to have more fun things that we can do and post for Instagram. I mean, the list goes on in the digital age that we live in. But when we become grateful for all that we have, we realize that we actually have all that we need. If that makes sense, we realize that our body is amazing for all the things that it does for us. We realize that a car in a bigger house isn't what is going to make us happier. And we appreciate the friendships that we have so much more because they're deep and we savor all the special moments that we have with our loved ones, no matter how small, because they add up to countless beautiful memories that we'll remember for the rest of our life. Why? What I'm saying is not just to make you feel better. There's actually some studies to prove this, and I kind of want to list out some studies in case you want to nerd out like I did. There's actually a 2003 study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology found that people who kept a gratitude journal for ten weeks reported feeling more optimistic, satisfied with their lives and happier than those who didn't. There was a 2012 study published in the journal Emotion that found people who wrote down three things that they were grateful for each day reported feeling more positive emotions, slept better, and exercised more than those who didn't. There is a 2015 study that was published in the Psychological Science that found that people who practice gratitude were less likely to experience depression and anxiety. [00:04:47][90.5]
[00:04:48] And lastly, a 2020 study published in the journal Frontiers in Psychology found that gratitude can help people cope with stress and trauma. Do I need to keep going, or are you getting the picture? Gratitude often is seen as a lens in which we view the world. So when we make a conscious effort to acknowledge and appreciate the good around us, our mindset shifts from one of lack or negativity to one of abundance and positivity. And this shift really enables us to notice and appreciate the beauty that has always existed around us. But perhaps we've overlooked it or taken it for granted. Again, there is science to prove this. Our brain actually has a negative bias. And so this means that we are chemically wired to see the bad in things. We're wired to notice threats in the environment which translate us to always noticing things that are bad or always noticing things that are wrong or what's wrong in our life. Rather than focusing on all of the good that surrounds us, like the chemical wiring of our brain changes with experiences that we have, which means the more that we practice gratitude, the more our brain learns to tune in to the positive things that surround us in our everyday lives. Which means the more we practice gratitude, the more automatic it becomes for our brain to see the beauty that is around us. Instead of instantly pointing out, you know, what's bad or what's missing in our life. It's going to point out to what's great and all of the abundance that surrounds us. So, yes, I know today is Thanksgiving, but I want to challenge you to make every day Thanksgiving moving forward, spending just 1 to 5 minutes saying 3 to 5 things that you're thankful for out loud. [00:06:33][105.4]
[00:06:34] That's it. 1 to 5 minutes, 3 to 5 things. If you do this, I guarantee it will drastically change the way that you feel in your life. And I want to leave you with one last thought. Gratitude can transform common days into Thanksgiving, turn routine jobs into joy, and change ordinary opportunities into blessings. That's a quote from William Author Ward. So if you have the possibility to change your life through gratitude, why wouldn't you at least try? If you love this episode, I know you'll also love an O.G. episode. It's Episode six How to Take Control of Your Day and Live a More Positive Life. And then also Episode one, I need to talk about this one a lot because it is the nitty gritty behind the gratitude practice, and it's Episode 192 The Science Behind a Gratitude Practice and why it is not as cliche as you think. So I have linked both of those in the show notes below so that you can easily go tune into those next. But again, on today being Thanksgiving I or Thanksgiving, I guess in the United States, we do have a worldwide audience. So for those of you who are not celebrating Thanksgiving technically in the United States, just know that again, Thanksgiving should be every day. But I am so grateful for you. I'm so grateful for your presence. I'm so grateful for who you are. I am rooting for you. I am cheering for you. We are all a community of sisters who genuinely try our hardest to embrace our real and commit to loving ourselves so that we can love others in our best capacity. And I just couldn't be more grateful for this community. So thank you so much for tuning in today's episode. [00:08:09][94.9]
[00:08:10] I love you so much. I'm in contact with. You. All right, sister. That's all I got for you today. But I have two things that I need you to do. First thing, if you are not already following me on the gram, be sure to do so, Julie. A lot better. Yes, it's within a in the middle for that Daily Post about real talk, healthy tips and tricks and honest accountability to keep your mind and heart in check. The second thing be sure to subscribe to Apple Podcasts to never miss an episode. Thank you so much for joining me. It means the absolute world. And I'm going to leave you with one last thought. The most beautiful women that I have met in my life are the ones who are completely confident and secure in being authentically themselves. Remember that beauty goes so much deeper than the surface. So go out there and embrace real because you're worth it. [00:08:10][0.0]
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