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gwunspoken
We know that now more than ever, there is a growing disconnection between parents and their teens, corporates and their employees, and human interactions in general.
This can cause stress, frustration and many arguments within families and the work environment.
gwunspoken looks at the challenges people of all ages have in their relationships with one another and provides experience and advice, allowing all parties to have a voice.... and feel heard.
Join us to hear corporates, parents, educators, teens and the latest advice of how we can in fact live the life we love, in making authentic interactions, because we know... authentic connection is everything.
gwunspoken
Gratitude Won't Save You
Gratitude has been packaged and sold to us as a miracle cure. Be grateful and your anxiety will vanish. Start each day with thankfulness and watch your life transform. But what happens when you do all the "right things" and still feel broken? What happens when gratitude doesn't save you?
In this raw, honest finale to our season on gratefulness, we tear down the false promises and reveal the deeper truth: gratitude was never meant to rescue us from life's storms. The research is clear – gratitude practices don't eliminate depression or PTSD, but they do something perhaps more valuable. They increase our emotional resilience, reduce stress hormones, and enhance our cognitive flexibility. Put simply, gratitude doesn't erase the storm; it teaches us how to stand in the middle of it without losing ourselves.
The most authentic gratitude isn't found in perfect journal entries or Instagram-worthy meditation sessions. It's in the whispered "I made it through today" when everything feels impossible. It's the grit beneath our feet when we're crawling through hard times. True gratitude can coexist with grief and disappointment – it doesn't need to fix our lives to transform them. Through practical prompts and honest reflection, we explore how to let gratitude be imperfect but consistent, how to find it in life's cracks rather than just the highlight reel, and how it can anchor us even when it doesn't save us.
Share this episode with someone who needs to hear that their struggle with "perfect gratitude" isn't a failure – it might be the doorway to a more authentic relationship with thankfulness. Because gratitude doesn't have to be perfect; it just has to be honest.
www.in8code.com
Well, hey legends, welcome to another edition of GW Unspoken, where we discuss stuff we don't typically talk about, but but probably should. This is the final episode in our season on gratefulness, and today I want to take off the gloves, because here's the truth Gratefulness will not save you, it won't erase your trauma, it won't stop the storm, it won't make everything okay, but if you let it, it might just set you free, and I'll explain how this works. The problem is, we keep looking to gratitude to rescue us. We're told it's the magic bullet. Be grateful and you'll feel better. Practice gratitude and your anxiety will probably disappear. Hey, start your day with gratitude and the universe will align with your vibes. Does that sound familiar? Sounds like marketing, right? Well, this is what happens when you do all the right things and you still feel broken. What happens? You journal, you breathe, you thank the stars and you're still not okay. And this is the thing that no one's actually telling you.
Speaker 1:Gratitude is powerful, but it is not. It is not the cure, it's not meant to be. It's not there to save you. It's there to ground you In a world that is spinning fast, where pain is unavoidable and where life doesn't always make sense. Being grounded. That's a kind of freedom most people never taste. And let's get into the facts. This is what the research tells us. A 2021 study published in the Journal of Clinical Psychology found that gratitude practices did not eliminate symptoms of depression or PTSD, but they did lead to increased emotional resilience, reduced cortisol levels those ones that stress hormone and greater cognitive flexibility. So what does that mean? Gratitude doesn't erase the storm. It actually teaches you how to stand in the middle of it without losing your shit. It doesn't make that pain disappear, but it reminds you that you are more than the pain. It helps your brain stop looping on the threat and start scanning for strength. And here's also the bold truth that no one's saying. Gratitude isn't the goal, it's not a destination, it's not the thing you arrive at when you sort of think you have your life together. It's the grit under your feet when you're crawling through the hard bits. It's that flick of light when you're sitting in the dark and unsure if morning will come. It's that whisper of hey, I'm still here. Half the world has knocked you flat and the wound is still hurting.
Speaker 1:Gratefulness is not an end point, it's a posture, and sometimes it's the last thing holding you together. And the point is there's no perfect gratitude practice. You don't have to light a candle, meditate or sit in the lowest position to feel grateful. You don't have to write in a fancy journal or say it out loud in front of a sunrise. Sometimes gratitude looks like surviving, sometimes it's saying this sucks, but you know what I am still showing up. Sometimes it's thank God, I made it through the day without screaming into a pillow, and you know what that actually counts. In fact, that might be the most authentic gratitude that you do of all time, and I think the plan is to let gratefulness be imperfect. You know it doesn't have to be perfect, but it needs to be consistent Because, as we wrap up the series, here's the only plan you probably need.
Speaker 1:Number one stop trying to make gratitude look a certain way. Let it be clumsy, let it be angry. Let it be real, let it be perfect for you. Two find it in the cracks. Gratitude isn't in the highlight reel, it's in the moments. No one sees the sigh of relief, the quiet strength of you. Know what I actually kept going? Number three let it coexist. Let gratitude sort of live beside grief, let it hold hands with disappointment, let it stand beside hope. Gratitude doesn't have to fix it, it just has to find you where you are and remind you that even here, in a mess, you are still whole.
Speaker 1:So here's three final prompts for this session for you, gerald. Take time with them. They're not quick, they're not light, but they're probably real as we end up the series. Number one what am I still holding pain around and what am I grateful for within that experience? Explore both, let them sit side by side. It could be that you've still got the tenacity to keep going after all this time, and realistically, that needs to be actually celebrated aside. It could be that you've still got the tenacity to keep going after all this time, and realistically, that needs to be actually celebrated.
Speaker 1:Number two what is one moment in your life where gratitude just kept you going? And even if you didn't recognize it at the time, revisit that moment and really honor that. And number three how do you want gratitude to shape yourself, not as a performance but as a way of living? What kind of person are you actually becoming by being reflective? Well, that's it, my friends. That's it. That's season nine. That's gratitude done. We talked about the fluff, the science, the mess, the moments, laughed, we called out the BS, we sat in the dark and searched for flickers of light, and you know what? Here's the truth Gratitude didn't save me, it actually anchored me, and maybe, just maybe, it's just doing the same for you. And if this season has meant something to you, even if it's just one episode that helped you pause, breathe or feel seen, please, please, share it with someone that you love, and maybe it can make the difference for them, because gratitude doesn't have to be perfect, it just has to be honest. Thank you for being here.