Latest / Dr. Derek H. Suite MD - The SuiteSpot / Gratitude Unlocked 6/7: Saturday feeling a little bumpy? Gratitude is how you land the plane. #SelfCareSaturday

Transcript

Gratitude Unlocked 6/7: Saturday feeling a little bumpy? Gratitude is how you land the plane. #SelfCareSaturday · Dr. Derek H. Suite MD - The SuiteSpot

• 0:06
  SPEAKER_00: Greetings, sweet spotters.
• 0:08
  SPEAKER_00: It is Saturday, but not just any Saturday.
• 0:11
  SPEAKER_00: It's Self-Care Saturday.
• 0:15
  SPEAKER_00: That's right, it's about caring for you today.
• 0:19
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm your host, I'm Dr.
• 0:20
  SPEAKER_00: Derek Sweet, and I'm going to be your partner in this Self-Care Saturday as we continue to explore the power of gratitude.
• 0:28
  SPEAKER_00: All week long, we've been unlocking gratitude, some of its benefits, the way it can help us reinterpret our situation, the way it can slow down our nervous system.
• 0:42
  SPEAKER_00: As a matter of fact, because it's self-care Saturday, let's slow down for a second.
• 0:49
  SPEAKER_00: Because you see, Saturdays can hit a little different.
• 0:54
  SPEAKER_00: It's a weird thing.
• 0:55
  SPEAKER_00: It's the end of the week, but it's the time that we have the only opportunity and space to get so many things done during the week that we couldn't get done.
• 1:07
  SPEAKER_00: So we're pretty busy sometimes on Saturday.
• 1:11
  SPEAKER_00: So it's a bit of a challenge to call it self-care Saturday on some Saturdays.
• 1:17
  SPEAKER_00: But listen, we have to make the time.
• 1:19
  SPEAKER_00: It is critical.
• 1:20
  SPEAKER_00: There's only one you, there's only one me.
• 1:22
  SPEAKER_00: And we have to protect that.
• 1:26
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, your shoulders probably are like up near your ears, your chest is probably a little tight, your muscles are probably a little tight.
• 1:36
  SPEAKER_00: You're under stress.
• 1:37
  SPEAKER_00: Like I'm under stress.
• 1:38
  SPEAKER_00: We're always under a little stress.
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_00: All week you've been performing, producing, pushing, responding, reacting, taking in the news, dealing with all the drama that's outside.
• 1:52
  SPEAKER_00: You've been locked into other people's timelines, other people's demands, the expectations, the responsibilities.
• 2:00
  SPEAKER_00: You know how it is for the week.
• 2:02
  SPEAKER_00: And sometimes you don't even realize how tired you are until the weekend hits, and your body finally whispers to you, Hey, I need a break.
• 2:15
  SPEAKER_00: I need you.
• 2:17
  SPEAKER_00: And that's why self-care isn't a luxury today, my friend.
• 2:21
  SPEAKER_00: It's maintenance, it's maintenance, it's survival, it's actually wisdom.
• 2:27
  SPEAKER_00: Because when we ignore the self-care, when we ignore that message, we pay the price.
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_00: We pay it later.
• 2:35
  SPEAKER_00: High blood pressure, poor nutritional decisions, not feeling so good.
• 2:41
  SPEAKER_00: You know how it goes.
• 2:42
  SPEAKER_00: But here's the part that most people miss.
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_00: Just because it's Saturday, your brain can't suddenly switch off.
• 2:51
  SPEAKER_00: It doesn't work that way.
• 2:52
  SPEAKER_00: Your brain doesn't automatically switch into recovery mode just because it's Saturday.
• 2:58
  SPEAKER_00: Most of us wake up still running on Monday through Friday energy to be real.
• 3:03
  SPEAKER_00: What we need, what your system actually needs is a cue, a trigger, something that tells your body you can land the plane now.
• 3:14
  SPEAKER_00: You can slow down now.
• 3:17
  SPEAKER_00: And you know what that cue is?
• 3:20
  SPEAKER_00: Gratitude.
• 3:21
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, gratitude.
• 3:24
  SPEAKER_00: Not the vague kind, not the Instagram kind, not the postcard kind.
• 3:28
  SPEAKER_00: I'm talking about intentional gratitude, the kind you practice intentionally in small real moments.
• 3:38
  SPEAKER_00: Let me show you what that looks like.
• 3:40
  SPEAKER_00: It's like maybe today your gratitude is really small.
• 3:45
  SPEAKER_00: Like the coffee cup I have in my hand right now is nice and hot.
• 3:48
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm like, mmm, this coffee is hot.
• 3:52
  SPEAKER_00: I'm grateful for this coffee right now.
• 3:55
  SPEAKER_00: Or you woke up this morning and you say, Oh man, I'm grateful for the breath in my lungs.
• 4:04
  SPEAKER_00: Or someone gave you a call and they checked in on you.
• 4:08
  SPEAKER_00: I'm grateful for that.
• 4:09
  SPEAKER_00: I'm oh, I made it through today.
• 4:11
  SPEAKER_00: I'm here.
• 4:13
  SPEAKER_00: These little moments count.
• 4:16
  SPEAKER_00: That's my argument.
• 4:17
  SPEAKER_00: They're real.
• 4:19
  SPEAKER_00: My argument is that gratitude, when you put it in motion with one little steady gratitude remembrance at a time, you begin to change your brain's thinking.
• 4:35
  SPEAKER_00: And when you change your brain's thinking, your interpretation of the world changes and your behavior and your reactions change.
• 4:44
  SPEAKER_00: That's what gratitude puts in motion.
• 4:48
  SPEAKER_00: Take one slow breath with me right here.
• 4:56
  SPEAKER_00: Just to let your body catch it and then release it slowly.
• 5:03
  SPEAKER_00: Let the exhale always be longer than your inhale when you do a nice deep breath.
• 5:10
  SPEAKER_00: When you do something like that, first of all, all the cells in your body they're saying thank you right now.
• 5:18
  SPEAKER_00: You know why?
• 5:19
  SPEAKER_00: Because when you took that deep breath, my friend, you brought in life-giving oxygen into the body, into those red blood cells, and into all the tissues and organs that need it.
• 5:35
  SPEAKER_00: Your brain, your heart, your muscles, they needed that breath.
• 5:41
  SPEAKER_00: So never deny yourself the chance to have a deep breath.
• 5:45
  SPEAKER_00: And when you do that, in gratitude, here's what's happening inside.
• 5:48
  SPEAKER_00: Remember the insula?
• 5:50
  SPEAKER_00: That's the part of the brain, the internal scout that's always looking to monitoring what's happening with your body interoceptively.
• 5:58
  SPEAKER_00: That stops treating every heartbeat or muscle twitch like a crisis.
• 6:04
  SPEAKER_00: It stops over-interpreting things when you practice gratitude.
• 6:10
  SPEAKER_00: It scans your internal world, this insula, this part of the brain that we've been talking about, and it sends back a calming message like, okay, they're grateful.
• 6:22
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe things aren't so bad.
• 6:25
  SPEAKER_00: Same with the ACC.
• 6:27
  SPEAKER_00: Remember the ACC?
• 6:28
  SPEAKER_00: We talked about that yesterday, I believe.
• 6:30
  SPEAKER_00: The anterior singlet cortex, the conflict detector, the error, the error detector in your brain.
• 6:39
  SPEAKER_00: Some of us, myself included, if we don't get this ACC under control, it will find errors and problems and situations endlessly.
• 6:49
  SPEAKER_00: When you practice gratitude, the ACC quiets down.
• 6:55
  SPEAKER_00: Less friction, less self-critique, less error detection.
• 7:03
  SPEAKER_00: And remember the hippocampus, the meaning maker, the memories, the one that keeps the receipts?
• 7:10
  SPEAKER_00: Well, it chooses the receipts that highlights what's working as opposed to what's missing when you practice gratitude.
• 7:20
  SPEAKER_00: And as a result, your default mode network, the part of your brain, the chatter loop that's always running a story about what could be wrong or what could be the what if monster kind of thing going on, it lowers the volume so that your vagal nerve, your vagus nerve, your vagal break begins to relax your entire body.
• 7:43
  SPEAKER_00: I've gone through this system with you in detail again so that you understand that when your heart rate eases and your breath deepens and your muscles release and you feel more human again after you practice gratitude, it's because you have challenged your brain to think of something that you're grateful for: a person, a thing, a memory.
• 8:08
  SPEAKER_00: And it resets your nervous system.
• 8:11
  SPEAKER_00: And when you do that, my friend, that's self-care.
• 8:14
  SPEAKER_00: Not the candles today, not the spa day vibes, those are important.
• 8:19
  SPEAKER_00: Especially if you burn the right kinds of candles, you know, don't get the ones with all the junk in it.
• 8:26
  SPEAKER_00: That right here, when you allow gratitude to step in and reset your nervous system, that's the real work.
• 8:34
  SPEAKER_00: That's real self-care.
• 8:35
  SPEAKER_00: And if you're listening to this while you're folding the laundry this morning, you're cleaning the house, or you're just laying in bed or driving home, I'm not sure where you are.
• 8:43
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, whatever you're doing, I see you.
• 8:46
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, I'm with you.
• 8:48
  SPEAKER_00: You're not alone.
• 8:49
  SPEAKER_00: We're talking, I'm right here.
• 8:52
  SPEAKER_00: And I just want you to know that the ancient wisdom is lining up with it.
• 8:55
  SPEAKER_00: You know what it says in the ancient wisdom?
• 8:57
  SPEAKER_00: One little line He restores my soul.
• 9:01
  SPEAKER_00: Period.
• 9:03
  SPEAKER_00: Restoration can show up when you pause, when you can be still, long enough to notice what the mystery that we call God has placed in your life.
• 9:18
  SPEAKER_00: Gratitude for your strength.
• 9:21
  SPEAKER_00: Gratitude for your breath.
• 9:23
  SPEAKER_00: Gratitude for the little peace of mind you have.
• 9:26
  SPEAKER_00: Gratitude for the provisions you have, for the small joys, for the quiet mercies, for the victories.
• 9:32
  SPEAKER_00: You tied your shoelaces, or someone tied them for you.
• 9:37
  SPEAKER_00: You got up, you stepped out, you worked out, you went to practice, you made breakfast.
• 9:45
  SPEAKER_00: Gratitude helps you see these things, and seeing them helps restore you, puts your mind in the right place.
• 9:53
  SPEAKER_00: So here's your Saturday, your self-care Saturday reminder, and we're out.
• 9:57
  SPEAKER_00: Care for yourself like someone who matters, because, my friend, you do.
• 10:05
  SPEAKER_00: Care for yourself like someone who carries a calling.
• 10:10
  SPEAKER_00: Because, my friend, whether you understand it or not, that calling is in you.
• 10:16
  SPEAKER_00: Somebody out there depends on you, somebody out there loves you, somebody out there is praying for you, thinking about you, wants to talk to you, knows who you are.
• 10:29
  SPEAKER_00: Care for yourself.
• 10:31
  SPEAKER_00: Like someone who still needs strength for next week.
• 10:34
  SPEAKER_00: Because you do.
• 10:36
  SPEAKER_00: We all need strength for next week.
• 10:37
  SPEAKER_00: So we gotta, you know, you can't um give what you don't have.
• 10:41
  SPEAKER_00: You gotta pour into you.
• 10:43
  SPEAKER_00: And so, yeah, gratitude is not just calming you down, it's caring for you, it's reinterpreting the stress of the week, it softens the edges and gives you a clearer, kinder lens to see yourself with.
• 10:58
  SPEAKER_00: And that's really cool.
• 11:02
  SPEAKER_00: This whole idea of practicing gratitude, of understanding it.
• 11:05
  SPEAKER_00: It can turn your Saturday from a sort of a catching up into a coming back to myself.
• 11:12
  SPEAKER_00: Here's the affirmation that I like to use on Saturdays.
• 11:15
  SPEAKER_00: I look in the mirror and I say it.
• 11:18
  SPEAKER_00: I deserve care.
• 11:22
  SPEAKER_00: I welcome rest.
• 11:25
  SPEAKER_00: Gratitude brings me back to myself.
• 11:29
  SPEAKER_00: I deserve this care.
• 11:31
  SPEAKER_00: I am gonna welcome this rest, and the gratitude is gonna bring me back to myself.
• 11:37
  SPEAKER_00: And if nobody told you this week, I am proud of you for making it here.
• 11:43
  SPEAKER_00: I am proud of you for everything you did.
• 11:47
  SPEAKER_00: I'm proud.
• 11:49
  SPEAKER_00: Meet me tomorrow.
• 11:51
  SPEAKER_00: Meet me tomorrow for Sunday, and we bring this home.
• 11:56
  SPEAKER_00: It is not it's not just any Sunday either.
• 11:59
  SPEAKER_00: This is slowdown Sunday.
• 12:01
  SPEAKER_00: Can't wait to see you there.
• 12:03
  SPEAKER_00: And now, if this helped you, if it grounded you, if you got something, anything out of it, I implore you, I beg you, please share it with one person who could use this message on gratitude today.
• 12:20
  SPEAKER_00: Love and blessings.
• 12:22
  SPEAKER_00: This is Dr.
• 12:23
  SPEAKER_00: Derek Sweet, and you've been listening to The Sweet Spot.