YouTude Session 4: The Greatest Attitude of All (11/23/14)
The foods that alter your mood, dig you out of depression, make you happy, increase your sex drive, ease your pain, balance your hormones, and increase your energy. Oh, and the foods responsible for your cravings and fat storage! What more can I say? Watch this one! (And the printed transcript is so useful! Use it as your shopping list!)
The other episodes in the YouTude series can be found here.
Transcript
BIG Life Mentoring
November 23, 2014
YouTude: The Greatest Attitude of All
Changing our attitude is as simple as ordering from a menu. But until this month, most of us weren’t even aware of our attitudes. We were unaware of our attitude toward mornings, laundry, burpess, squats, vegetables, cold weather, our husbands, etc. Not only were we not aware of our attitudes about everyone and everything, but we had no idea there was a menu we could order from.
The menu of attitudes is divided by Little Life Attitudes and BIG Life Attitudes. There were some ah-ha moments this month as we realized we had been ordering off the wrong side of the menu. And those Little Life Attitudes have been making us (and everyone around us) miserable.
Now if you were in a restaurant and you were served a dish you didn’t want, or even worse would make you sick, would you sit there and keep eating it? No!
Then why would you choose to let the grouchy butt attitude you woke up with ruin your entire day? Stop eating that grouchy butt attitude. If you don’t like what your ordered, order something else. And girls, this never fails, regardless of the situation you’re facing, exchanging your Little Life Attitude for a BIG Life Attitude is the single most effective first step you can take.
But the truth is some people don’t want to change. Some people have become attached to that miserable feeling and they order it every day. Their attitude is making them sick, fat, poor and crazy, but that’s what they’ve ordered. They want the magic pill, the lottery ticket that will magically change their life overnight … and they will waste their entire life waiting for it. When all they really need to do is order up a BIG Life Attitude one day, then do it again the next day, and the next.
So, what do you want? Do you want to wait on that magic pill for the rest of your life, or do you want the attitude that will begin to change it all? Maybe you don’t need anything more than you already have … maybe all you need is a new attitude.
In our final YouTude session we are talking about the greatest attitude of all. Of all the attitudes on the menu, I believe there is one that reigns supreme. One that will change the miserable, the grouchy, the negative, the depressed, the worried and the stressed. The dish on the menu guaranteed to be a favorite of everyone in your house. The attitude you can wake up with, work with, have fun with, relax with and go to sleep proud of yourself with every day for the rest of your life.
The greatest attitude of all … GRATITUDE. And it couldn’t come at a better time, the week of Thanksgiving.
Gratitude is said to unlock the fullness of life. I believe gratitude puts the B.I.G. in BIG Life {Because I’m Grateful}. No gratitude, no BIG Life. You want that BIG Life you were created for? Amp up the gratitude.
Maybe you’re already a pretty grateful person. You see countless things all around you every day to be grateful for. Awesome, so am I. But we could all use more. More gratitude is MORE. I want more out of life, if you’re with me, I will share 5 ways to get more out of life this week with more gratitude.
1. #FIRSTWORLDPROBLEMS
If you want to increase your gratitude to get more out of life this week, you must realize how wildly rich and ridiculously blessed you truly are. If you have food in your fridge, clothes on your back, and a roof over your head, you are richer than 75% of the world. If you have any amount of money in the bank, money in your purse, and some spare change in your house, you are among the top 8% of the world’s wealthy.
Girls, I don’t care what size your house is, how many cars you own, or what brand your jeans are, YOU ARE WILDLY RICH AND RIDICULOUSLY BLESSED … maybe you’ve just forgotten.
We have problems, but most of our problems are first world problems. Let’s put our problems in perspective by looking at third world problems.
In some third world countries by the time you reach 36 years old you would have already lost 8 children. EIGHT. The truth is, our problem would be their blessing.
We complain life is hard for us. Women in China work at a factory making Reebok clothes and shoes for our families to buy. 6,000 women are crowded in windowless rooms, with temperatures soaring to over 100 degrees, working 7 days a week from 8 am to 11:30 pm. They are beaten for slow production. Maybe, just maybe, we don’t know what hard really is.
The average woman in a third world country walks 3.5 miles every day carrying 55 pounds of water. Maybe we don’t know what hard is.
We complain we are too busy. Here’s the average day of a 30-40 year old woman in South Africa:
4 a.m. – Get up and fish
6 a.m. – Make fire & breakfast
8 a.m. – Work on paddy field
11 a.m. – Collect berries and bark – Get water
Noon – Make lunch & clean
2 p.m. – Laundry – Get water – Cook fish
3 p.m. – Work in garden
5 p.m. – Fish again
6 p.m. – Cook dinner
8 p.m. – Clean – Wash children
9 p.m. – Peel grain – Tie fishing nets
10 p.m. – Bed
Maybe we don’t know what hard is.
In China, 13 million women per year are found to be pregnant with the second child, tracked down and forced to terminate their pregnancy. Maybe we don’t know what hard is.
Maybe we need perspective to remember that most of our daily problems are first world problems. You are WILDLY RICH AND RIDICULOUSLY BLESSED. First world problems aren’t that bad, are they?
2. Honey Hole Interruption
I’m married to a fisherman. His daddy was a fisherman too. Several years ago, these 2 fishermen drove me to a secret spot on a lake in Texas and took me to their Honey Hole. This was the place they knew the fish were always biting. And they were right. We were catching them as fast as we could reel them in. The Honey Hole was guaranteed success. It was the sweet spot.
We have a honey hole too … it’s gratitude. It’s our sweet spot.
When anxiety comes knocking on your door, you INTERRUPT the anxiety attack with GRATITUDE.
When stress and overwhelm are consuming you, INTERRUPT it with GRATITUDE.
When the “woah-is-me pity party” invitations are being addressed, INTERRUPT the pity party with GRATITUDE.
When the sadness is dark and heavy, INTERRUPT the depression with GRATITUDE.
Interrupt with Gratitude! Gratitude is your honey hole, your guaranteed refuge, your sweet spot, your inevitable success. Go to the honey hole. You will always find goodness there.
Allow me to teach you a trick to visiting the honey hole of gratitude anytime and every time you need it. It’s called Bellow’s Breath. I was first introduced to this technique on a rainy yoga hike in the woods along a beautiful river with our Big Mama Anela. And tonight we’re going to do it together.
Sometimes our minds are on the crazy train and we must INTERRUPT it with gratitude. But have you ever tried to stop the madness with gratitude. Your mind is running so fast and it’s so full of sadness, anger or worry that there’s no room for gratitude … only guilt. This one minute breathing exercise will restore your calm and free your mind to then be filled with gratitude. CALM first, then GRATITUDE.
Bellow’s Breath Exercise
- Sit comfortably (criss-cross legs in the floor)
- Breathe in and out through your nose rapidly 15 times (working your way up to 30 rapid breaths)
- If you feel dizzy or light headed, back away.
- After the rapid breaths through your nose, close your eyes and breathe deep and slow for up to 1 minute, filling your thoughts with gratitude for all that is right in your world. How you are wildly rich and ridiculously blessed.
DO IT NOW
Do you feel the amazing clarity? The peace? The calm? The gratitude? It’s amazing!
Thanksgiving day, as you’re stressed about what everyone’s wearing (yes, I used to be that mom too), the guests show up early, the turkey is dry, you forgot to buy butter, the TV is too loud, and your annoying cousin walks through the door … go fishing in your honey hole … GRATITUDE.
Excuse yourself for 1 minute and do the Bellow’s Breath exercise. Get off the crazy train, calm your mind, then fill it with gratitude.
3. “Thank you, I love it!”
“The more you recognize and express gratitude for the things you have, the more you will have to express gratitude for.” ~ Zig Ziglar
Have you ever been to a birthday party of a spoiled brat? Were you happy you bought her a present? Nope. It was a waste of your money and you won’t do it again.
Have you ever been to a birthday party of a truly grateful kid? With every gift, big and small, came a hug and an excited squeal of “thank you, I love it!” Were you happy you bought her a present? Heck yes you were and you’re excited to buy her more.
Every day we are the birthday girl receiving the gift of a new day wrapped in the rising sun, but are we grateful? Do we love it? All day, every day, we are presented with more gifts. Answered prayers, new opportunities, protection and provision, but are we too busy to notice the gifts?
Are we so spoiled that we now feel ENTITLED to these things every day? Are we entitled to running water and a warm shower? Are we entitled to a working refrigerator and washing machine? Are we entitled to a car that starts every time? Are we entitled to a body that doesn’t hurt? Are we entitled to healthy children?
We may be used to it, and expect it, but let me remind you, you ARE NOT ENTITLED TO ANY OF IT. None. And when we finally understand we are entitled to nothing, we can be grateful for everything.
Live with no water for a day, you will have a whole new level of gratitude for it. The next time you turn on the water facet and water comes out, shout “Thank you, I love it!”
The next time your car starts, “Thank you, I love it!”
The next time your child comes running through the door, “Thank you, I love it!”
Because sister, you are not entitled to it. You have been blessed, you are favored. When we start living with the gratitude that matches our blessings, then we unlock the fullness of life … the BIG Life {Because I’m Grateful}. Thank you, I love it!
And maybe the giver of all our gifts will see you as the grateful birthday girl and want to give you more. That’s the way it works. When you’re grateful for all you have, you will have more to be grateful for.
If you can’t be content with what you have, you will never be content once you have what you want. Be content now.
4. Blessings and Burdens
Think of all this next week holds for you. Maybe travel, family, cooking, cleaning, work, decorating, shopping, entertaining. What of those things are a burden to you?
This week continually ask yourself “Blessing or Burden”. And when your response leans toward burden, get to the root of that burden. And you know what you will likely find? A blessing.
You have to do laundry – BURDEN! At the root of that burden is the blessing of a family with clothes – BLESSING. And holy bounty if you have your very own magical washer and dryer which washes and dries those clothes with the touch of a button. Girl, you hit the blessing jackpot!
A dear friend of mine shared that she is dreading decorating for Christmas. The truth is many dread decorating. You know what’s lacking here – the right attitude. What’s the perfect attitude? GRATITUDE!
If decorating for Christmas is a burden, you’re doing it wrong. Simplify it. Get back to the root of it. What’s at the root? A blessing.
If you dread going to work, you’re doing it wrong. If it’s truly a miserable job, for heaven’s sake find a different job! Most of the time it’s really just a case of burdens and blessings and we’ve allowed the blessing of a job to become a burden. Remember when you prayed for that job? Hmmmmm….
What are you dreading? Is there a blessing at the root of that burden? I bet there is.
5. Hidden Thank You’s
We all like to be appreciated. Gratitude feels good to give and to receive. Maybe you’re the one in your house always giving and rarely ever receiving. I have a guaranteed solution for that. This week, leave hidden thank you’s
Watch your hubby and notice how hard he is working and hide a thank you note in his sock drawer. Tell him why you appreciate his hard work for the family.
Watch your kids and notice where they are doing well. Hide a thank you note on their mirror. Tell them specifically what you appreciate about their efforts.
Now the twist … Watch yourself this week and notice where you’re working hard and doing well. Show yourself some gratitude. You’ve been doing that laundry. Leave yourself a hidden thank you note. “Hey thanks for doing the laundry every day. Because of you the entire family has clean underwear today. Great job!”
You’ve been cooking for everyone. Hide a thank you note in the pantry that says “Thank you for cooking delicious meals for all of us and saving us so much money. I really appreciate it.”
You’ve been working hard, using your time wisely and you should be proud of yourself when you go to bed. In the morning while you’re making the bed (you do make the bed, right?) hide a thank you note on your own pillow. I have one on my own pillow right now waiting for me tonight.
So there it is … 5 simple ways to get more out of life this week by increasing your gratitude.
- #FIRSTWORLDPROBLEMS
You are wildly rich and ridiculously blessed. You have a roof over your head, food in the fridge and clothes on your back … you’re richer than 75% of the world! - Honey Hole Interruption
Gratitude is your guaranteed success. Stop the crazy train by the Bellow’s Breath exercise, then fill your mind with gratitude. - “Thank You, I love it!”
The more you are thankful for the things you have, the more things you will have to be thankful for. - Blessings and Burdens
As you continually ask yourself “blessing or burden”, remember there is likely a blessing at the root of your burden. - Hidden Thank You’s
Show appreciation to everyone in your house this week … especially you! Go write a thank you note to yourself and hide it now.