Latest / Dr. Derek H. Suite MD - The SuiteSpot / Gratitude Unlocked 2/7: From Pressure to Purpose in 10 Seconds #TakeActionTuesday

Transcript

Gratitude Unlocked 2/7: From Pressure to Purpose in 10 Seconds #TakeActionTuesday · Dr. Derek H. Suite MD - The SuiteSpot

• 0:05
  SPEAKER_00: Hey there, sweet spotters.
• 0:07
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome back.
• 0:08
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome back to the Sweet Spot.
• 0:10
  SPEAKER_00: I'm Dr.
• 0:10
  SPEAKER_00: Derek Sweet.
• 0:12
  SPEAKER_00: As you know, I'm a board certified psychiatrist.
• 0:15
  SPEAKER_00: I am a performance strategist.
• 0:18
  SPEAKER_00: But more than that, I'm a lifelong student of the intersection between science, soul, and success.
• 0:28
  SPEAKER_00: This is where we connect those dots.
• 0:31
  SPEAKER_00: And this week, we are unlocking one of the most misunderstood concepts.
• 0:39
  SPEAKER_00: One of the most underrated concepts.
• 0:43
  SPEAKER_00: An underused and underrated force in high performance.
• 0:49
  SPEAKER_00: And that force is gratitude.
• 0:53
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, gratitude.
• 0:56
  SPEAKER_00: Not the polite, nice kind of saying thanks.
• 1:01
  SPEAKER_00: I'm talking about the powerful kind, the avalanche power of raw gratitude.
• 1:10
  SPEAKER_00: Because right now, too many of us are running on stress, speed, and self-pressure.
• 1:18
  SPEAKER_00: I'm raising my hand as one of the people that sometimes is too attached to stress, speed, and self-pressure.
• 1:31
  SPEAKER_00: And here's the thing.
• 1:33
  SPEAKER_00: What I'm learning and what I'm sharing with you is that gratitude is the hidden power that brings our nervous systems back into alignment.
• 1:45
  SPEAKER_00: Gratitude is the hidden power that brings your system back into strength.
• 1:51
  SPEAKER_00: I know no one talks about it.
• 1:55
  SPEAKER_00: But real talk, gratitude is what clears the noise in life.
• 2:02
  SPEAKER_00: Gratitude is what steadies your focus and reminds you of what's still working when you're practicing it.
• 2:10
  SPEAKER_00: It's amazing when you walk in gratitude.
• 2:14
  SPEAKER_00: And it's not new.
• 2:16
  SPEAKER_00: It's not new at all.
• 2:17
  SPEAKER_00: Gratitude has been shaping greatness, it's been protecting lives since the dawn of civilization.
• 2:25
  SPEAKER_00: Did you know the ancient Egyptians practiced gratitude through their devotion?
• 2:30
  SPEAKER_00: They had a devotional gratitude ritual that they would give to the goddess of truth, balance, and harmony.
• 2:40
  SPEAKER_00: They believed that giving thanks kept both the cosmos and the soul in order.
• 2:49
  SPEAKER_00: But that's found everywhere.
• 2:51
  SPEAKER_00: The Greeks called it charis, another word for grace, favor, and connection.
• 2:57
  SPEAKER_00: Roman philosophers, well the Roman philosopher Cicero called gratitude the parent of all virtues.
• 3:04
  SPEAKER_00: Every virtue you can think of comes and starts out of gratitude.
• 3:12
  SPEAKER_00: During the Enlightenment period, thinkers, great thinkers described gratitude.
• 3:16
  SPEAKER_00: It's the foundation of all civic virtue.
• 3:20
  SPEAKER_00: You can't escape it in life.
• 3:22
  SPEAKER_00: It's everywhere.
• 3:24
  SPEAKER_00: Even religions, every faith, every religion, every major faith and wisdom tradition keeps gratitude at the center.
• 3:37
  SPEAKER_00: The Hebrew Psalms sing about gratitude.
• 3:41
  SPEAKER_00: Buddhist teachings breathe gratitude.
• 3:45
  SPEAKER_00: Muslim prayers are anchored in gratitude.
• 3:49
  SPEAKER_00: Christian faith.
• 3:51
  SPEAKER_00: Think about it.
• 3:52
  SPEAKER_00: The Eucharist literally means thanksgiving, not the holiday, but the lifestyle of thanksgiving.
• 4:04
  SPEAKER_00: So across the centuries, gratitude has been the bridge between hope and endurance.
• 4:12
  SPEAKER_00: It's the rhythm, the silent rhythm that has been historically turning survival into strength.
• 4:21
  SPEAKER_00: And now here we are fast forward 21st century, modern neuroscience is teaching us.
• 4:26
  SPEAKER_00: It's telling us that you know what, these ancient folks were right.
• 4:32
  SPEAKER_00: Gratitude is not just about feeling good.
• 4:36
  SPEAKER_00: Gratitude we're discovering through neuroscience, through MRIs and functional MRI scans.
• 4:43
  SPEAKER_00: We are seeing that when people practice gratitude, their prefrontal cortex, you remember that one, the brain's CEO, and the anterior cingular cortex, the part of the brain that helps us with planning and making sense of things.
• 5:01
  SPEAKER_00: This prefrontal cortex and anterior cingular cortex, the parts of the brain that really help us plan and connect, they light up when people are practicing gratitude.
• 5:10
  SPEAKER_00: Think about it.
• 5:12
  SPEAKER_00: And then their amygdala, you remember that one, that's the fear center of the brain.
• 5:17
  SPEAKER_00: We've talked about this ad nauseum here on the sweet spot.
• 5:21
  SPEAKER_00: Those of you who are old-time veterans, you know we've talked about living life between the prefrontal cortex, which is our thinking brain, and the amygdala, which is our fearful sort of threat-centered brain.
• 5:34
  SPEAKER_00: Well, when you practice gratitude, guess which one is privileged?
• 5:39
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, your prefrontal cortex, your anterior cingular cortex, it they're privileged over the amygdala, the part that's always looking for threats and is always worried.
• 5:51
  SPEAKER_00: The amygdala, the brain's threat detector, quiets down when we practice gratitude.
• 5:58
  SPEAKER_00: You know what that means?
• 5:59
  SPEAKER_00: If you're an athlete, less panic.
• 6:02
  SPEAKER_00: You know what that means?
• 6:03
  SPEAKER_00: If you're a preacher, more perspective.
• 6:08
  SPEAKER_00: You know what that means?
• 6:09
  SPEAKER_00: If you have to go to the doctor, a new attitude because you feel that you're thankful for this doctor.
• 6:19
  SPEAKER_00: Your vagus nerve, the tenth cranial nerve in the brain, the one that runs through the entire body and is responsible for relaxing and calming you down, it gets more active when you feel gratitude.
• 6:35
  SPEAKER_00: And your HRV, your heart rate variability, if you're a performer, it tends to rise.
• 6:41
  SPEAKER_00: And you know what that means when your HRV rises?
• 6:44
  SPEAKER_00: You see it on your aura ring, you see it on your whoop band.
• 6:47
  SPEAKER_00: The HRV is what marks recovery and resilience.
• 6:52
  SPEAKER_00: And when you practice gratitude, when you're in a grateful state, what I'm saying to you is your brain chemistry changes.
• 7:01
  SPEAKER_00: Your amygdala is not as active.
• 7:04
  SPEAKER_00: Your vagus nerve, the one that relaxes you, starts to work even better.
• 7:10
  SPEAKER_00: How cool is that?
• 7:12
  SPEAKER_00: Just by being grateful, just by changing your mind.
• 7:17
  SPEAKER_00: And over time, you know what gratitude is doing?
• 7:21
  SPEAKER_00: It's strengthening the same neural circuits that help every elite performer stay calm and become creative and confident under pressure.
• 7:32
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, elite performers, they know something about gratitude and they practice it, and you can too.
• 7:43
  SPEAKER_00: That's why I call gratitude performance medicine.
• 7:48
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, gratitude is a kind of performance medicine for the mind, the body, and the soul, and it doesn't have to be on your shelf, it's in you already.
• 8:00
  SPEAKER_00: That's the good part about it, my friend.
• 8:02
  SPEAKER_00: So wherever you are, locker room, the office, the kitchen, you're on the commute, you're on the grind, take a breath.
• 8:11
  SPEAKER_00: Take a step back and lock in.
• 8:16
  SPEAKER_00: Because gratitude, when you get yourself immersed in it, begins to help inform every action you're gonna take.
• 8:26
  SPEAKER_00: And what is today?
• 8:28
  SPEAKER_00: You guessed it.
• 8:30
  SPEAKER_00: Today is Take Action Tuesday.
• 8:34
  SPEAKER_00: So we've got to put gratitude in motion.
• 8:39
  SPEAKER_00: And people ask all the time, they say, Dr.
• 8:41
  SPEAKER_00: Sweet, what does this mean?
• 8:43
  SPEAKER_00: What does that even mean?
• 8:44
  SPEAKER_00: Wake up with gratitude, move with gratitude.
• 8:47
  SPEAKER_00: You know what?
• 8:47
  SPEAKER_00: Let's break it down.
• 8:49
  SPEAKER_00: When you wake up with gratitude, what I specifically mean, it's not that you're forcing happiness or pretending that everything is fine.
• 8:57
  SPEAKER_00: It's just taking 10 seconds to reset before your mind gets hijacked by all the day's noise before you check the phone, before you get the first ping, the first notification.
• 9:12
  SPEAKER_00: It's about taking those 10 seconds to just reset yourself.
• 9:19
  SPEAKER_00: You open your eyes and instead of scanning for problems, trying to figure out what hurts, what you're late, what you gotta do, what's missing, you scan for what you're thankful for.
• 9:31
  SPEAKER_00: You scan for what's still good, what's still working.
• 9:36
  SPEAKER_00: Listen, everything may not be working, but the idea is you want to wake up with gratitude.
• 9:43
  SPEAKER_00: So maybe it's the breath in your lungs and you say, you know what?
• 9:47
  SPEAKER_00: I just took a dip a deep breath in.
• 9:53
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe it's the person laying next to you.
• 9:56
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe it's a family member, maybe it's the apartment, house, or the place you live in.
• 10:03
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe it's the job you have, maybe it's your kids, maybe it's your pet.
• 10:09
  SPEAKER_00: That's what I call waking up with gratitude.
• 10:12
  SPEAKER_00: Last time we talked about you got 10 fingers.
• 10:15
  SPEAKER_00: I challenge you.
• 10:16
  SPEAKER_00: When you wake up before you leave the bed, look at your fingers and for everyone that you have, be grateful for something.
• 10:26
  SPEAKER_00: Count your blessings.
• 10:28
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, indeed.
• 10:33
  SPEAKER_00: That's waking up with gratitude.
• 10:35
  SPEAKER_00: Choosing where to place your attention before the world tells you what to do, before the world places it on you.
• 10:44
  SPEAKER_00: Moving with gratitude is the same idea as moving with thankful motion.
• 10:51
  SPEAKER_00: It's when you walk into a meeting, you walk into the gym or practice, or you walk into a tough conversation, and you are aware you're not anxious.
• 11:03
  SPEAKER_00: You're not moving from fear of what could go wrong, you are grounded because you're thankful for everything that is already going right for you.
• 11:14
  SPEAKER_00: You walked into the room, that's something to be thankful for.
• 11:19
  SPEAKER_00: You can see what's ahead of you, that's something to be thankful for.
• 11:24
  SPEAKER_00: You can hear what's happening, you can hear my voice.
• 11:28
  SPEAKER_00: Hey, that's something to be thankful for.
• 11:32
  SPEAKER_00: You have somebody that cares about you.
• 11:36
  SPEAKER_00: That's something to be thankful for.
• 11:38
  SPEAKER_00: Do you get it?
• 11:40
  SPEAKER_00: You realize I don't have to do this job.
• 11:45
  SPEAKER_00: I don't have to talk to this person, I get to do this.
• 11:50
  SPEAKER_00: And I get to grow from this challenge.
• 11:53
  SPEAKER_00: Whatever obstacle I'm facing, whatever problem is in front of me, whatever challenge I've got to face today, I get to do this.
• 12:01
  SPEAKER_00: It's a privilege.
• 12:03
  SPEAKER_00: That's how gratitude works.
• 12:06
  SPEAKER_00: That's gratitude in action.
• 12:08
  SPEAKER_00: And when you start to think from a place of gratitude, your nervous system follows that signal.
• 12:14
  SPEAKER_00: It's listening.
• 12:15
  SPEAKER_00: The universe is always listening.
• 12:18
  SPEAKER_00: Your brain is always checking in to see what you're thinking.
• 12:22
  SPEAKER_00: And when you start practicing gratitude, here's what happens according to all the research.
• 12:28
  SPEAKER_00: People who practice gratitude, they live longer.
• 12:31
  SPEAKER_00: You know why?
• 12:32
  SPEAKER_00: Their heart rate is slower.
• 12:35
  SPEAKER_00: Their blood vessels are more dilated.
• 12:39
  SPEAKER_00: They take in more oxygen when they breathe.
• 12:42
  SPEAKER_00: They have a sharper focus.
• 12:44
  SPEAKER_00: They have more confidence.
• 12:46
  SPEAKER_00: So when we say move with gratitude, we're really saying move from awareness, not adrenaline.
• 12:54
  SPEAKER_00: That's what turns gratitude from an idea into a state of power when you have anchored yourself in it before you get going.
• 13:04
  SPEAKER_00: The gratitude is the fuel that fuels and energizes your action.
• 13:11
  SPEAKER_00: And Melody Beattie, the author that I love who wrote on gratitude, God rest her soul, said it this way.
• 13:21
  SPEAKER_00: Gratitude turns chaos into order, and confusion into clarity.
• 13:29
  SPEAKER_00: I want you to think about that.
• 13:31
  SPEAKER_00: Let that sink in for a second.
• 13:35
  SPEAKER_00: Gratitude turning your chaos into order and your confusion into clarity.
• 13:45
  SPEAKER_00: Think about it.
• 13:47
  SPEAKER_00: Just think about it.
• 13:49
  SPEAKER_00: Just being grateful can take a chaotic thing and make it more orderly for you.
• 13:57
  SPEAKER_00: That's not just poetry, my friend.
• 13:59
  SPEAKER_00: That's neurology.
• 14:00
  SPEAKER_00: That's your brain rewiring itself.
• 14:03
  SPEAKER_00: When you shift into gratitude, your brain literally, literally starts sorting signals from noises.
• 14:13
  SPEAKER_00: Your brain stops spiraling and starts seeing what it has to be thankful for, and as a result, it knows what next step to take.
• 14:26
  SPEAKER_00: And the ancient wisdom echoes this.
• 14:28
  SPEAKER_00: You know, we love ancient wisdom here on the sweet spot.
• 14:33
  SPEAKER_00: We're a science, soul, and success here.
• 14:36
  SPEAKER_00: So we're always blending the neuroscience with the ancient scriptures.
• 14:40
  SPEAKER_00: The ancient scriptures put it this way, very elegantly.
• 14:44
  SPEAKER_00: Faith without works is what?
• 14:48
  SPEAKER_00: Well, all the Christians out there raise their hands.
• 14:50
  SPEAKER_00: They already said, yes, faith without works is dead.
• 14:54
  SPEAKER_00: 100%.
• 14:56
  SPEAKER_00: You see, gratitude by itself is nice and definitely will give you a good feeling, but it grows when it moves from thought to action.
• 15:07
  SPEAKER_00: So before your day runs away, I want you to name three things that are still working for you today.
• 15:15
  SPEAKER_00: Just three things.
• 15:16
  SPEAKER_00: Think about it.
• 15:17
  SPEAKER_00: What three things are still working?
• 15:20
  SPEAKER_00: In your body, in your mind, in your spirit, in your social environment.
• 15:26
  SPEAKER_00: What's working?
• 15:27
  SPEAKER_00: That simple act cools your amygdala, the threat center of the brain, and it lights up the prefrontal cortex, the CEO of the brain.
• 15:39
  SPEAKER_00: You're telling your brain, we're safe now, we can think clearly.
• 15:44
  SPEAKER_00: We have something that we can be very thankful for.
• 15:48
  SPEAKER_00: And then ask yourself, what do I get to do today because I'm grateful?
• 15:56
  SPEAKER_00: That one word, get.
• 15:58
  SPEAKER_00: What do I get to do?
• 16:00
  SPEAKER_00: It flips your chemistry from cortisol to dopamine, from survival to motivation.
• 16:09
  SPEAKER_00: And finally, act.
• 16:12
  SPEAKER_00: This is Take Action Tuesday.
• 16:15
  SPEAKER_00: I want you to act.
• 16:17
  SPEAKER_00: Have gratitude first.
• 16:18
  SPEAKER_00: Are you grateful for your strength?
• 16:20
  SPEAKER_00: Then move.
• 16:22
  SPEAKER_00: Are you grateful for a connection in your life?
• 16:24
  SPEAKER_00: Reach out.
• 16:26
  SPEAKER_00: Are you grateful for your purpose?
• 16:28
  SPEAKER_00: Well, lock in and do what you do best.
• 16:32
  SPEAKER_00: Are you grateful for someone that you love?
• 16:35
  SPEAKER_00: Say it.
• 16:36
  SPEAKER_00: Do something for them.
• 16:38
  SPEAKER_00: And listen, if you ain't got somebody, look in the mirror.
• 16:43
  SPEAKER_00: You gotta love the one you're with, as the song says.
• 16:47
  SPEAKER_00: Because you see, my friend, gratitude without action is just energy waiting for direction.
• 16:54
  SPEAKER_00: Gratitude with action, that's your alignment.
• 16:58
  SPEAKER_00: Body, brain, and belief all moving together.
• 17:04
  SPEAKER_00: I spoke to a great athlete this morning, and he was reminding me of the word believe.
• 17:12
  SPEAKER_00: And when he is moving in belief, his body and his brain, they are aligned with the belief, and great things are available.
• 17:23
  SPEAKER_00: We can learn from these elite performers.
• 17:26
  SPEAKER_00: How about aligning your body and brain today with your belief, with your gratitude?
• 17:34
  SPEAKER_00: Take a deep breath in right now.
• 17:38
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 17:40
  SPEAKER_00: And think of one area in your life as you exhale that feels sort of messy, uncertain, you're not sure, you have to resolve this, this bothering you, and hold on to that for a second.
• 17:53
  SPEAKER_00: Take another deep breath.
• 17:55
  SPEAKER_00: And when you exhale, just whisper thank you.
• 18:01
  SPEAKER_00: Say to yourself, I'm grateful.
• 18:04
  SPEAKER_00: In that moment, your heart rate drops, your vagus nerve engages, and your body, it moves from the fight or flight sort of anxious state, and it re-enters focus and flow.
• 18:22
  SPEAKER_00: That's what gratitude will do for you.
• 18:24
  SPEAKER_00: It will turn the confusion into clarity because you keep focusing on what you're thankful for, and it anchors you, it strengthens you.
• 18:37
  SPEAKER_00: But only when you breathe and move from peace instead of pressure, you've got to move from the peace instead of the pressure.
• 18:48
  SPEAKER_00: Now ask yourself this.
• 18:50
  SPEAKER_00: What's one small thing I can do today on Take Action Tuesday to bring some clarity out of my confusion?
• 19:03
  SPEAKER_00: To bring some order to my chaos.
• 19:11
  SPEAKER_00: That's your Take Action Tuesday move today.
• 19:15
  SPEAKER_00: Listen, Granit's not gonna make it perfect, but it'll make you present and will give you the option to be centered.
• 19:22
  SPEAKER_00: It trains your brain to spot possibilities instead of only the problems.
• 19:27
  SPEAKER_00: And it will turn the chaos into rhythm.
• 19:33
  SPEAKER_00: It will turn the pressure, my friend, into purpose.
• 19:38
  SPEAKER_00: And you've got this.
• 19:40
  SPEAKER_00: You are filled with gratitude right now.
• 19:42
  SPEAKER_00: I am speaking it into you right now, my friend.
• 19:46
  SPEAKER_00: So wherever you are, I'm with you.
• 19:48
  SPEAKER_00: Wherever you are, I'm walking in gratitude with you.
• 19:53
  SPEAKER_00: We're gonna move with this kind of power today.
• 19:57
  SPEAKER_00: Today on Take Action Tuesday, we're moving in gratitude, and nobody's gonna stop us.
• 20:02
  SPEAKER_00: We're gonna be grateful, we're gonna be steady, we're gonna be thankful, and you know what that's gonna make us ready for whatever comes.
• 20:11
  SPEAKER_00: Amen.
• 20:13
  SPEAKER_00: Amen.
• 20:14
  SPEAKER_00: Because you see, gratitude isn't just how you say thank you, it's how you stay ready.
• 20:20
  SPEAKER_00: Alright, my friend, if this little conversation we had today on Take Action Tuesday spoke to you about how to use gratitude to inform your actions and to stay balanced and to stay ready, share it with someone.
• 20:40
  SPEAKER_00: Don't just keep it for yourself.
• 20:41
  SPEAKER_00: Gratitude multiplies when we share it.
• 20:45
  SPEAKER_00: Alright, I'll see you tomorrow.
• 20:47
  SPEAKER_00: You know what tomorrow is, right?
• 20:49
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, tomorrow is Wednesday, but not just any Wednesday.
• 20:52
  SPEAKER_00: What is it?
• 20:53
  SPEAKER_00: It's Win It All Wednesday.
• 20:55
  SPEAKER_00: Looking forward to seeing you there.
• 20:57
  SPEAKER_00: Be blessed and take care.