EP 22 l Gratitude: Align with Positivity, Manifestation, & Attraction

A quick hack to align with positivity, manifestation, and drop into a state of attraction is to practice gratitude.  There is always something to be grateful for, even if it doesn’t look like it at first glance.

Happy Thanksgiving!! We’re celebrating the week by reminding ourselves what this holiday is about. Gratitude is a lot more hype than ya’ll realize. It’s a shortcut to feeling your way back to positivity, no matter how ugly the situation. (One would argue that a stitched closed eye and blood soaked hairline is p ugly and gratitude is what got me through that!)

Being told to ‘be positive' can feel like it’s a little unhelpful. Like, sure, I know that’s what I ‘should’ be, but, bitch how? Well, well, well….that’s where gratitude comes in.

In this episode, I teach you how to practice gratitude, while still authentically honoring whatever turbulent circle of Hell you’re at.

Xoxo and Happy Thanksgiving, Loves!

Win most, lose some.

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Chapters

• 0:00 Intro
• 1:11 Housekeeping
• 2:24 Gratitude = Manifestation Hack
• 3:16 Infinite Possibilities for Happiness
• 6:00 Gratitude Crates Positivity
• 7:08 ALWAYS Something to be Grateful for
• 8:21 Your Pain is Valid
• 9:35 How to Generate Gratitude
• 13:44 Thanksgiving 2021
• 17:20 What TRULY Matters
• 19:42 2mm
• 21:00 Balancing Gratitude & Negativity
• 23:13 Lifeline Back to Positivity
• 24:09 Holidays are Reflective
• 25:23 Happy Thanksgiving!!

Transcript

It's all good as long as you have your basic things to be grateful for: your health, your loved ones’ health, food, water, a roof. That's what it comes down to. Everything else is gravy. Thanksgiving metaphor. Not metaphor—great Thanksgiving joke. I don't know what the quite correct thing is. Whatever. Everything else is gravy, all right?

Almost dying taught me how to live. Being struck by a car left me in a three-and-a-half-week coma with 15 broken bones and 16 surgeries to complete, including brain surgery. However, I woke up from that coma in an even greater place than I ever foresaw for myself. How? The universe will guide you out of the darkness and into the light if you allow it. Often spirituality comes off as too highbrow. I'm not about that.

Because this isn't coming out specifically on Thanksgiving, but, you know, details. So I wanted to supplement the week by giving you guys a quick gratitude episode—minisode. I don't quite know if it's a quick episode or a minisode. I don't know what the terminology is. I don't even know what a minisode is, but we're going to keep it short today. It's short for me. I talk a lot.

We're going to try to keep it short today, and gratitude is so fitting with spirituality and also mental health and recovery. It is absolutely crucial to mental health. It is crucial to getting into a groove with the universe. It is an underrated and not-talked-about-enough important part of our lives.

But before I get into the bulk of the episode—which I'm about to do, we're putting this stuff at the beginning now, we're trying that out—before I get into the bulk of the episode: follow me on Instagram and TikTok at @gabriellarebranded. Like, review, subscribe. Please review, that helps me so much. And sign up for my newsletter at gabriellarebranded.com.

And now we get to go into the episode. Gratitude is what dragged me out of the depths. And it is the depths, the death. Having a problem with my “th” sounds isn't new. I was in special speech therapy when I was a young kid. I've never been able to pronounce “th”s. Now I like to blame it on the brain injury, but it's not anything new.

But gratitude is what dragged me out of the worst of the worst when I was in my darkest mental state. And it really turned things around for me and ignited everything that led me to where I am now and created the life—or, I created this life—but it helped me create the life that I have now.

It is a surefire and the most compelling way to turn on your manifesting power. And if you really feel lonely, gratitude is how you hack the universe a little bit. Gratitude is crucial to manifesting a dream life that you want for yourself.

First of all, I say “a life” and not “the life,” because often we don't know what we need. We know what we want, but not what we need. And “the” is very limiting, because it implies that there is one singular life that can bring about all the feelings that you want and everything that you crave. And the reality is there are infinite possibilities in the world and in the universe.

If you told me five years ago that I was going to have a podcast about spirituality and trauma and my brain injury, and I was going to be really fucking happy and living a great life, but also not currently acting, I would have said, “I'm in the middle of a pandemic, I don't know what the fuck is going on, I really don't care.” That's probably what I would have said.

But you guys get the point. There are a lot of life routes that you can create—ones that you're not expecting and haven't even thought of yet, like I obviously hadn't thought of mine—that bring about all the feelings that you want. And that's why we can't limit ourselves to only one life that we think we want.

Infinite possibilities and opportunities can call in the exact feelings you want to bring into your life. Prior to 2024, it was never in my life plan that I would for sure have a podcast. That was never in my life plan. And also, prior to 2024, it was never in my life plan that even if I did have a podcast one day—because I am good at talking, so I thought, “Eh, maybe one day”—but even if I did have a podcast one day, I never thought it would be about the specific thing that Gabriella Rebranded is about.

I spent years—I spent 25 years—basically pursuing a life and dreams or trying to pursue a life and dreams that aren't what I'm doing now, and I'm so much happier than I ever was when I was pursuing the life and dreams that I thought I wanted for myself.

So clearly I was wrong about “the life” and what I needed to do to bring about the feelings and the dreams that I wanted. Because doing what I thought was right for me wasn't bringing about those feelings. Whereas now that I'm here, I can only think of more things and more career possibilities and all these different things that I can do.

And I don't know what I'm going to do next. I mean, I'm going to finish my book, that's a given. But then will I get into motivational speaking first or legal advocacy first, or something entirely different that I haven't even thought of yet? Will I go back to acting for a period of time? Who fucking knows?

And that's why I say “a life” and not “the life.”

We generate gratitude by focusing on what's working in our lives—aka, focus on the positive. And some of you are going to be like, “Shut the fuck up, bitch,” because I've said this a million times, but energy is exponential. So when we focus on the positive, we get more of the positive back.

But the reason why gratitude is so helpful for this is because when things are fucking shit in your life and you feel like things are just terrible, and someone says to you, “Just be positive,” it's like, “Okay, bitch, but how? Because everywhere I look around me, things fucking suck. So ‘just be positive’ what?”

But when you say, “Focus on gratitude. Just sit there and think and list all the things that you're grateful for,” that sounds more doable. It's like, “Okay, I can't just be positive, but I can sit there and I guess force myself to try to find something to be grateful about.”

And then once you do, the magical thing about gratitude is once you find one thing to be grateful about, you find another. And then you find another. And then you find another. And before you know it, you've created a whole list—even when it feels like everything in your life motherfucking sucks.

And some of you listening to this right now might be ready to fight me, because you're currently in a place in your life where there is nothing to be grateful for, or you don't think there's anything to be grateful for. There always is something.

But to that I would say, excuse me, kids: I was in one of those places in my life for quite a while, where it seemed like there was absolutely nothing to be grateful for, and I figured it the fuck out. So shut the fuck up, shush, and take some notes.

If you are listening to this on a device that gets Wi-Fi, that is something to be grateful for. Clean drinking water is something to be grateful for. If you have a roof over your head, if you know where your next meal is coming from, if you're in a stable enough job where it's not necessarily the job you want, but it's keeping that roof over your head, you're good.

If your health is in check, your loved ones’ health is in check, you've got that roof, you've got that water, and you've got that food, you will figure the rest out. You will figure the rest out. I promise you.

Before you roll your eyes at me because you've heard this before—“There's always someone who has it worse.” Yeah, there always will be someone who has it worse. That is a fact. But just because there is, that doesn't mean that you don't have the shit that you have.

Just because someone has it worse, that doesn't mean that you don't have to deal with the fucking shit that you have to deal with. And the reality of the situation is we can only truly understand our own emotions and our own experiences.

So yeah, if you have always had clean drinking water—which, my audience is largely U.S.-based, so I assume that everybody listening to this, for the most part, has always had access to clean water—yeah, you might be grateful for that in theory, but you've never known what it's like to not have clean water. So it's hard to really be grateful for that because, yeah, it's incredible, it's amazing, you can think about how you're grateful, but you're not really feeling it.

And while you should still wake up every day and be thankful that you are in an environment where you have clean water, you have access to Wi-Fi—while all that is true, and I'm not saying that it's not—you still have, within your personal realm of your life, the annoying fucking shit that you're dealing with.

But when things feel especially terrible, that is when we absolutely need to practice gratitude. And when you find one thing, no matter how itty-bitty-titty, and it leads you to another, eventually the things stop being generic things about life, and they start being things that are personal and are specific to your own life.

Before I continue on with the theoretical, I'm going to show you.

Okay, so we'll do me right now. I'm grateful that I have AC, which a lot of people don't. The current students in USC's New North dorm—they do not have access to AC. And let me tell you, that was a fucking nightmare. I distinctly remember—I will never forget—showering at 3 a.m., cold showers, when we were in the middle of the heat wave.

So yeah, I'm very thankful that that is not the current life that I have. I'm very thankful that someone figured out how to hang this light-up sign with fishing wire. I would have never figured that out. I am thankful that my coffee table and my cheetah print rug look really good together.

I'm thankful that this chair is comfortable. I'm thankful for iced coffee, but that's kind of a given. I'm thankful that I am doing this right now. I'm thankful that I have a podcast studio in my house so that it's almost 8 o’clock at night and I can do this. I don't have to be, you know, a slave to a schedule of when I have a studio rental, when my editor is available. I have my own studio in my own house and I can do this whenever the fuck I want.

And it's almost 8 o’clock on a Tuesday, and I said, “Perfect time to record.” I'm thankful that leading up to Thanksgiving, I'm doing this. I'm writing and I'm recording this and I'm releasing this and I'm doing this. And that's amazing.

I'm thankful to myself and my work ethic for making all of this happen and creating my own dream life for me to live. That is absolutely incredible. And by the time this releases—or when this releases—I will be at home with my childhood dog, Callie, and that is the most thrilling future trip in the world. I cannot—I'm so excited for that, and you see it on my face right now.

And I'm thankful that if you are listening to this this week—Thanksgiving week is a fucking crazy time—so if you are listening to this, you took the time out of your never-ending schedule, or even if it's not Thanksgiving week, just in general: if you're listening to this whenever, you took the time out of your schedule to sit down and listen to this.

And I am super thankful that you did that for me. And I'm super thankful for all my listeners. And I know it's not just for me. I know it's for yourself too. But thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you.

See? Gratitude. And see—it is that easy to start to cultivate a list of things to be grateful for. It is truly that easy. And I'm sure you guys saw how I was just getting happier talking. And no, that wasn't me being an actor. That was just, as I was talking and as I was thinking of things, I just got more and more and more and more happy. That's what gratitude does. That is the state that it puts you in.

And I started generic: I had AC. And I just was looking at things around this room to figure it out. And then it became about me. And it became about what week it was. And it became about my listeners. And it became about my podcast and my work ethic. See? Starts general, gets more specific to yourself as you go on.

When you focus on what you have rather than what you want, the universe can really get to work. And every time we start listing what we're grateful for, we find that there is a lot more to be grateful for than we thought that we had going on.

It's about thinking about what we currently have and pouring energy into that, so that the universe can really get to work—rather than thinking about what we don't have but we want.

Thanksgiving: I had just gotten out of the hospital and been brought to inpatient rehab right before Thanksgiving. So I have concrete-ish memories. I say concrete-ish because I remember who was there, I remember what was going on, but the memories are really blurry. There's no texture to them. I just remember theoretically what happened. I don't remember any specifics.

My dad and my brother were there. They had come out before, but while I was comatose. I don't remember that. This was the only time that I was awake while they were out there and that I was remembering and able to speak with them.

And that year, I hated Thanksgiving. Not necessarily just because of what was going on with me—I mean, yes, because of what was going on with me—but because my transition to California rehab right as Thanksgiving approached delayed everything.

Having those two days off that led into the weekend delayed everything. And my departure from Cal Rehab was so delayed by Thanksgiving, because there was a series of tasks and tests and therapies and things like that that I had to complete. But it was now two extra days that I lost, that I couldn't get to any of that.

And yeah, you might be thinking, “It's just two days,” but when you're in that fucking rehab center and nothing works, two days feels like two months. So I fucking hated Thanksgiving that year.

And I remember my trach being removed and the surgery to remove my trach, because of that whole complicated issue. That was really delayed because of Thanksgiving. And my trach was the final thing that I needed to get out of there. Because I had to prove that I was able to breathe without it. And to do that, I had to show that for three days I was able to breathe.

So first, the issue with my trach was that it wouldn't come out. So then they had to do the surgery. Between them having to schedule the surgery, and everything else, it just dragged.

I could eat, because I'd been on the feeding tube for a bit, and they were able to get me in for a swallow test right before Thanksgiving so that I could eat on Thanksgiving. How generous of them.

But I go and I take this swallow test and I pass. What they didn't tell me was: yes, I could eat now, but I could only eat the food that Cal Rehab provided. And it was fucking terrible food. And I would have rather just stayed on the diet of my feeding tube than had to eat Cal Rehab's food. I mean, the grass is always greener.

So it was just a whole fucking mess, and I was like, “What is there to fucking be happy about?”

Well, what there was to be happy about was that I was awake. That’s what there was to be happy about—that I was alive. And that my family had all taken the trip out there so that I wasn't alone on that day. That is something to be so grateful for.

Anything that you are upset about right now, currently—and if it's petty, normal shit—it is okay. It is okay. It is actually such a blessing to have the luxury right now to be upset about petty, normal shit.

So if you're upset because you're annoyed that you're going to have to see some people on Thanksgiving that you don't necessarily want to see… or your mom's not making Stovetop stuffing because she wants to make gourmet stuffing, and you don't want this stuffing—the Stovetop was perfectly fucking fine. Yes, I've had this fight with my parents. That is such a blessing. That is so great.

That is such a luxury—that you have been afforded the right to be upset about those normal things. As I said earlier, you’ve got the basic things covered. It's all going to be okay. All right?

It's all good as long as you have your basic things to be grateful for: your health, your loved ones’ health, food, water, a roof. That's what it comes down to. Everything else is gravy. Thanksgiving metaphor. Not metaphor—great Thanksgiving joke. I don't know what the right correct thing is. Whatever. Everything else is gravy, all right?

That doesn't mean you can't be annoyed about things. Doesn't mean that maybe you have to travel a really long and uncomfortable amount of time and that's annoying. Yeah, things can be annoying. But also, it's all okay. Both truths can exist.

I was more than allowed to be annoyed about everything I had to be annoyed about. I was more than allowed to be annoyed that it was taking an extra-long amount of time to get me out of there. I was more than allowed to be annoyed that I had to eat Cal Rehab food. That is all valid. All those feelings were so, so, so valid. I am not taking any of those away from my past self.

But I also had three family members that were staying in my studio apartment—on one bed and an air mattress—to spend the day with me. And I was also alive. And that's something to be really grateful for.

Both truths can exist. That I had a right to be really fucking annoyed and upset about a lot of things—I mean, look at what my health was, it was a fucking clusterfuck—but then I also had a lot to be grateful for.

I got this tattoo a few weeks ago. It's just “2MM,” and what it stands for is 2 millimeters, because my occipital condyle bone—if I had broken it 2 millimeters more, I'd be a quadriplegic. And the reason why I got this tattoo—which my mom doesn't know I got, so this is kind of… but I already have four other tattoos, so like, it's fine—and the reason why I got it is because if I'd broken that occipital condyle bone 2 millimeters more, I'd be a quadriplegic.

So it's a reminder to live life in the 2 millimeters. Never say never. Just because something has a small chance of happening doesn't mean it won't happen. Take the chance. Don't be scared. Don't fucking be embarrassed.

But what it also reminds me is: be really grateful. I mean, 2 millimeters is what separates me from being able to do all this. And, you know, my body and being able to move my body is so important to me. Fitness is so important to me. And I couldn't imagine if I didn't have access to that. Fitness has truly become a saving grace for me and something that is so good for my brain and my mental health. So I'm so thankful that I'm still able to have that.

And 2 millimeters is fucking nothing. Do you know how close that is? That's nothing. So that's what this tattoo is a reminder of.

That same occipital condyle bone—if it had been displaced, I would have stopped breathing and died. A nursing student who happened to be walking by when I got hit kept my airway open until the ambulance arrived, which also helped keep me alive.

When I head-banged the windshield and the glass went into my eye—you can see the scar on my eyelid, there's a scar on my eyelid—yeah, the vision in this eye sucks now, but I still have my eye and I still have some of my vision.

There were so many tools that the universe delivered me that helped me. Surgeries, hair coming back, hair extensions. The fake ponytails and wigs were annoying, but at least they made me feel kind of okay in public. And my extensions—and then my hair came back, oh my God. And the surgery for my boobs, yay. There were all these tools to make it so that I didn't live in that state forever.

And while all that is really great and so much to be grateful for, I'm not toxic positive. That doesn't change the fact that for over a year and a half, I had boobs that pointed in the wrong direction. It doesn't change the fact that it was surgery 15 out of 16, and surgeries are exhausting and recovery is exhausting.

And yeah, I still have my eye, but none of my friends and family don't have their eyes. Most people have both their eyes. So it's annoying that, yeah, I have to be grateful that I have both my eyes, but the vision in this one still sucks, and this eye still had so many surgeries.

All that is still fucking annoying. All that is still sad and has made me sad at times. Both truths can exist. There's a lot to be grateful for. You're allowed to feel the negative emotions as well.

Gratitude doesn't take away the bad. You still have the bad. You still had to live through what you lived through. Gratitude doesn't make that disappear. But what it does is it makes it faster and easier and smoother to get out of the negative feelings.

Gratitude is like a lifeline or a map that, when you're ready to get out of your negative emotions—you've felt them fully and now you just don't want to keep feeling that down-bad way—gratitude is the lifeline or map that can take you out of there and put you back into a state of attraction, a state of positivity.

That's what gratitude does. It makes it so you don't have to stay in your sadness or your frustration. It doesn't take it away, but it makes it so that you don't have to stay in it.

Gratitude is the easiest way to have a similar warmth, that positivity, that love—you have that with you to take into the holidays, which can be a very stressful time. It is a misconception that the holidays are a purely happy time. That is such a misconception.

What the holidays are is a very reflective time. And that reflection can trigger a lot of sadness, a lot of anger. It's not necessarily happiness that it is triggering inside of you.

So what gratitude can give you this holiday season is warmth and love and just a little bit of positivity to take with you during the most stressful six weeks out of the year.

And if you are physically alone this Thanksgiving, just remember: you're never alone. The universe is always supporting you. But fuck the theoretical—you have my love.

And I want everyone listening to this right now…

Okay, that's it. I didn't want to take too much of your time this week. Remember: review, like, subscribe, sign up for my newsletter—gabriellarebranded.com, @gabriellarebranded on Instagram and TikTok. Yay! All the good things.

Have a happy Thanksgiving to everyone. Win most, lose some. I hope you win a lot of mac and cheese and some really fun and flirty, scandalous family secrets—and lose any family secrets that implicate yourself.

Okay, that's it. Happy Thanksgiving!