Hi there. I'm Jill Allen and this is find your fierce, the show designed for women to discover your fierce, unlock and unstoppable mindset. Build unbreakable courage and completely transform how you show up every single day. Each week I will bring ideas, methods and strategies that will inspire you to step into your greatness and live life on purpose. Let's be fit, fierce and unstoppable.
(00:37): Hey there, welcome everyone. And thanks for plugging in today. This is episode nine of find your fierce and I'm going to share with you a few things that have really changed how I view my life. And at the end of the day, how I live it. We're going to dive in how you can get everything you want out of life, or maybe I should say how you can get everything you truly want out of life. And it may not be how you think. I love talking about our dreams, our visions, our missions. You know, we talk about elevating our goals, upleveling our life, striving and taking action. And all of that is critical when it comes to getting what you want in life. You know, we talk about that here often you could actually go back and catch those episodes. But today what I want to share with you or what is on my heart is something that if we don't start practicing while we go after what it is that we want, then we're going to miss the life that we have right in front of us.
(01:30): Does that make sense? So how do we get everything we want out of life if it's not dreams, goals and taking action? Well, for starters, it's gratitude. And I know it has been a concept that's become pretty trendy over the last few years. You know, I see it on tee shirts, I see it on signs. I know it's a hot topic in the mainstream, you know, the books and the magazines and the blogs, it's everywhere. I believe we see things that we may be looking for. So maybe it's, it's popping out to me for whatever reason. But you know what if I said that gratitude improves your health, it improves your mental health, your mental strength, that it increases productivity, that it makes you happier, more relaxed, that it creates deeper relationships or it helps you sleep better, that it improves self esteem. What if I told you that gratitude decreases stress and anxiety, that it generates more contentment, that gratitude has such a positive impact on our life?
(02:29): Would you believe me? No. Let me put it this way. I know it's really challenging to think about what you don't have when you are so totally focused on what you do. Have an all that you are grateful for. You know, maybe you're at a crossroad that changes are needed in your life, but you're not really sure where to start. You know? And how can something as simple as expressing appreciation makes such a difference to our state of mind? No. Imagine if we could focus on daily gratitude, the impact it would have on her life. I mean, think about this for a moment. Would we feel calmer, more at peace? Would it? Would we stop nagging our spouse? Would our marriages be better? Would people want to be around us more? Because naturally, right? Gratitude makes people like us more energy levels increase. What our careers take off would we overcome our fears because we are focusing on all the good that we go out and just conquer our fears?
(03:24): Would we crush our goals that we set because we are able to go push forward when we're not stuck with the negative, ungrateful mindset? Would our enthusiasm and fire for life skyrocket? I'm just, I'm just throwing things out here. Here's the thing with gratitude. It can help you make more positive choices. Take better care of yourself, feel empowered and develop a positive. You know, I can do this attitude to life and are you thinking? Yeah, right Joe, there's no way. Stick with me here. I get it. We're humans. We're not hardwired to be grateful. It doesn't come naturally to us. No, it's often so much easier to mumble and grumble and complain and think about all the areas in our life we're experiencing pain or hardship. I think it was Brian Kight. He calls it the BCD the blame, complain and defend mentality. I love that he calls you out on it, you know, and it's sometimes it's not having enough money in the bank or that our partner doesn't understand us.
(04:18): The number on the scale, the kids are driving us nuts or the crazy commute and the heavy traffic that we get to work each day. You know, whatever the reason it seems to be human nature to focus on what's going wrong in our lives or to dwell on what we don't have leading to a sense of powerlessness over how we feel that we're not getting everything we want out of life, that we don't have anything or not enough of it anyway. Oftentimes we are blinded with this not so good perspective when we're not getting what we want or everything we think that we should have or what dreams we're chasing. And if roadblocks keep popping up and we feel powerless, you know? Have you ever said, it's not fair? Why is this happening to me? And this is really all there is to life. I've had many conversations and let me tell you, many people think that it's easy for successful, positive people to be grateful because they have so much to be grateful for.
(05:15): Well, this isn't about success, money, jobs, cars, houses or anything else. Do these things help to improve the quality of your life? Sure, maybe. But gratitude isn't about having lots of money or success or the lots of material things. I mean, gratitude actually has to come first. It's the prelude to getting everything you truly want out of life. And I forget who said this. It's not me. I got to go back and find it in a book I read recently, but it said something like, when you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you. Wow. You know, I think about that when you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you. You have everything you need and you have so much to be grateful for. And when we commit to living a life of gratitude, it will actually reverse the, I don't have it all attitude, but it is a skill that takes some practicing and getting used to.
(06:12): I think we get better and better each day when we focus on our wins and what's good in our life along with all the blessings surrounding us. It's like we're sending out this message, look at all this good stuff, which causes more and more amazing to show up in our life. It's like the gratitude loop. It just continues. It just keeps getting better. Guys, God has given us so much. If we only choose to take the time to recognize it and we owe it to him, we owe it to him to recognize these gifts and to be grateful and that gratitude is this awareness that is things come to us. They are exactly what we need. And it doesn't always seem like that at the time, whether it, you know, maybe people coming and going, you know, in your life circumstances both good and not so good or the challenges we face.
(07:00): And when we extend this gratitude in all areas of our life, not just the good stuff or in the good times, but even the difficult things, even the difficult times, guys, nothing is on accident and it is all a reason for us to grow closer to God and ungrateful person will never use or understand God's gifts as well as they should. And they'll complain often missing all the blessings that God has given to us. And it's only when we keep our eyes on God and all that he's given to us that we will make the best use of his gifts and the more we will have. Does that make sense? You know, if I begin to count all the things that I owe to God, I would never finish counting because each added moment of life as another gift. And the more we practice gratitude, the more we see how much there is to be grateful for.
(07:49): And your life becomes this ongoing celebration, if you want to call it a joy and happiness, creating a life that has everything you truly want and it costs us nothing. You know, I encourage you to keep a gratitude journal. That's something that I had started doing a few years back. Become more aware of your surroundings. Begin to appreciate the little things like a smile from a stranger or this, the smell of coffee brewing or the sound of the rain hitting your bedroom window. I mean, it's not hard to do, it's just that we need to notice the good stuff in our life. Now I want to mention that the intention with gratitude is not to create long lists that you don't have meaning or value. I don't want you to just throw anything in your journal, you know, or, or to put pressure on yourself to just kind of positive.
(08:34): Think your way out of this. Any, any painful experiences or what we think are failures or you know, to deny any of that. You know, we will talk, actually we should talk about failures in an upcoming episode. I just wanted to touch base on this, that the aim here is to simply to direct and shift your focus to see the, and all these things and to, and to live in a state of abundance. Two, differentiate contentment versus settling. No. Have you ever heard the saying be content but never satisfied? You know, I bring this up because I questioned this myself at one time and you know, if your content, does it mean you're settling? If you're settling, doesn't mean you're content. No. I've seen these terms used interchangeably in the past, but I've recently begun to realize that there's quite a difference in the two.
(09:22): To me, when you're content, you're at peace, you're at peace with your faith, your life, your possessions, you know, your choices that you make. And when I think of settling, I think if someone that isn't living up to their full potential in their, maybe in their job or, or in their life, you know, are you settling for a life or a job that you have because you're comfortable. But you know, you could do more. Are you settling for the life you have because it's easier to blame other people or the circumstances for any of your situations. You know, and this goes along with gratitude. You know, when we don't appreciate what we have, it's hard to be content with our life, but it's not the same as settling. We don't want to settle, remember, you know, to just be satisfied getting by. I want you to think of your talents.
(10:08): Are you using them to the fullest and pushing yourself outside your comfort zone? Are you too comfortable in the daily routine? Are you growing? Are you doing meaningful work? You know, so it's okay to want and desire, you know, to get more out of life, to get everything you want out of life. But finding joy and contentment and not feeling like you have to have the next big thing. I want you to find true happiness. To me, it's getting everything you want out of life. When you do, if you're settling and not fulfilled, it's time to make that change. Guys, I mean, I want you to revisit your goals. And the vision you have for yourself. You know, if your life or your job, you know, if they're not supporting your goals or your vision, begin thinking about the ways to change for the better.
(10:48): You know, strive is a strong word, but if we are striving for something, strive for contentment in your life but just don't settle for a life or job that you dislike. If you don't like that situation, you don't like where you are. Change at guys. I can't stress that enough. Three, embrace the journey, being grateful for the blessings that we have and then being content. You know, we need to embrace this journey that we call life. You know, I sometimes add a lot to my plate and my husband Rob, he swoops in and tells me to focus and do one thing at a time so I don't get overwhelmed and forget the moment. Can you relate to moving from project to project and never savoring the moment? I can guys. I'm so guilty of not having finished something or finished a new project before. I'm already focusing on the next one.
(11:35): You know, so I'm currently working more on that, focusing on one, maybe two projects at a time, but we must give all the focus, love and the dedication to it and not want to be anywhere else. You know, I've learned to breathe, relax and release all those worries and fears that may show up or pop up. And we need that when you relax and breathe and we open the door for more positive and prosperous things to come into our life. So take that deep breath, relax and focus on one task and one moment at a time. Also, I think I remind yourself to stay present. You know, calm yourself down and go with the flow. And these are things that I need to hear. I am speaking to myself right now. One of my biggest challenges has always been to stop multitasking and to go with the flow.
(12:20): And that's kind of why I added it in here that you know, multitasking does not help with being present, you know, focus on what you're doing in the moment by telling yourself what you're doing. And I know that sounds so silly, but for example, if you're washing your face, you know, speak, I'm washing my face and what, what will happen is it'll get you back in the moment. And another thing you can do is like do things more slowly. For this, you must know how to manage your time. Okay? So if you need to, you know, get up a little earlier because you were going to slow down just a little bit more. I want you to be able to do that so you can fully benefit. But I know that you're going to find the reward of being able to live in the present and savor every moment because it's a true gift.
(13:04): And as for going with the flow, take action and pursuing your dreams and goals, but then stop worrying and go with the flow. And then, you know, I'm a big planner, I'm a big prepper. But the reality is that things don't always happen the way that you want them to. Sometimes things work out actually better than you plan, but it's going to require us to go with the flow and make the best of every situation. So when you go with the flow, you're not giving up on your goals and you're not giving up on your dreams. You're just simply trusting, having faith in the bigger and better plan for you. So I encourage you to relax and surrender because what you are seeking is also seeking you. So do you want more for your life? Do you want to get everything you truly want in life?
(13:50): Then guys, we got to practice gratitude. It shifts the focus to what you have rather than what you don't have. Gratitude can change your life because it is the single most powerful source of inspiration that any person can tap into if they simply just stopped and paid attention to the simplistic beauty and the miracle of life that is all around us. And two, we need to be content but never satisfied. Appreciate all the good while living your full potential, but do not settle. And three, embrace the journey and stop to smell the flowers along the way in our get everything you want out of life journey. Let's enjoy the present and let's embrace the process and speaking of journeys, if you have zero energy to focus on yourself and need extra support and accountability from women who know what it's like to juggle a crazy busy life, then go to beef and fierce.com and become unstoppable with us. Or if you want to join a sisterhood dedicated, growing our faith, join our just breathe Facebook group heads up. On the next episode we're going to talk about being relentless and how to show up every day. No matter. Thanks
(14:52): so much for joining me today. Please subscribe. Share this episode link on your social media as we all know, someone that can benefit and I would love it if you would give some feedback and a review as well. Talk with you next time. Be fit, be fierce, be unstoppable. See ya.
