Transformative Living Radio

The Power of Gratitude: How to Live A Lifestyle of Thankfulness Beyond Thanksgiving

• Andre Flax

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A peaceful morning can truly transform our perspective on the world around us! Just that simple moment—whether it’s the steam rising from your favorite mug or the gentle light streaming through the blinds—can lead us to explore gratitude as more than just a holiday habit. It can become a beautiful way of life that positively shifts our mood, mindset, and energy! By blending insightful research with timeless wisdom, we’ll uncover how practical and meaningful gratitude can be.

Together, we’ll look at some fascinating science that shows how gratitude can reshape our brains, enhance our sleep quality, boost our immune system, and strengthen our relationships. Plus, we’ll connect this to a universal spiritual principle supported by teachers from various traditions: gratitude paves the way for abundance. When we express thanks in advance, we harmonize our attention, emotions, and actions with positivity, even during uncertain times. Along the way, we'll identify three common obstacles to gratitude—comparison, entitlement, and distraction—and discuss how they can cloud our perspective and sap our energy.

To help make gratitude a part of your daily routine, I’m excited to share five simple practices you can start today! These include morning alignment before you even step out of bed, mood-boosting journaling, heartfelt expressions of appreciation, finding gratitude in difficult moments, and nightly reflections to rewire your brain toward positivity. We’ll conclude with a guided moment to cultivate gratitude in your body, reminding ourselves that every breath is a precious gift and every challenge presents an opportunity to grow.

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SPEAKER_01:

Welcome to Transformative Living Radio, where we explore the power of intentional change for personal growth and fulfillment. I'm Andre Flax, your host and certified life and leadership coach. It was an early Saturday morning not long ago when I sat quietly at the kitchen island. It was a morning that most of us would have called ordinary. The sun was spilling softly through the blinds, the smell of herbal tea steaming in front of me, and I could hear the faint sound of life waking up outside. Cars passing, birds calling, the hum of the day beginning. Now there was nothing special happening. I wasn't celebrating a win or marking a milestone, but something in that stillness hit me. I thought, how often do I rush through moments like this, missing the quiet gifts that were already right in front of me? That morning, I just said thank you. No elaborate prayer or request, just gratitude. In that instant, I sensed a shift. Not in my situation, but within my spirit. The feeling of gratitude transformed my internal environment. You see, gratitude isn't only for mountaintop moments or miracle breakthroughs. It's a way of being. A daily attitude that reminds us, even in ordinary, there's something extraordinary to be thankful for. So in today's episode, I want to talk about how to build a lifestyle of gratitude. Not just seasonal thankfulness or a list of blessings written down once a year, but a spiritual and scientific approach that changes how we see, feel, and experience everything around us. So grab a pen and a pad, and if you're ready, let's begin. Hello and welcome to another empowering episode of Transformative Living Radio. I'm Andre Flax, your host and certified life and leadership coach. As we approach the Thanksgiving holiday here in the United States, I thought it would be appropriate to talk about thankfulness, not in the traditional sense, but in a spiritual and scientific way of life that transforms how we see, feel, and experience everything around us. Science tells us that gratitude changes the brain. Research from UC Davis and Harvard shows that people who practice gratitude regularly experience more optimism, better sleep, stronger immune systems, and deeper relationships. Gratitude literally rewires neural pathways to make us more attuned to the positive aspects of life. Now, way before neuroscience caught up, spiritual teachers had already knew this truth. In fact, in the Gospel of John, Jesus gave thanks before he multiplied the loaves and the fishes. Think about that. That's the principle. Gratitude precedes increase. Neville Godd and Ernest Holmes both taught that gratitude is the evidence of faith. It's the vibration that aligns you with abundance. When you give thanks in advance, you're saying to the universe or to God, I trust that what I seek is already in motion. And that trust is powerful. You see, gratitude elevates your frequency, it opens your heart and pours more of what you appreciate into your life. As Ernest Holmes once said, quote, there is a law of gratitude, it operates through every life and blesses all it touches. When you make gratitude your spiritual practice, it becomes a lens through which you see everything, even adversity. It reminds you that life is not happening to you, but for you. Now, if gratitude is the language of abundance, then comparison, entitlement, and distractions are the static that blocks the signal. So let's break down the three enemies of gratitude. The first is comparison. Comparison whispers, you're behind. You see, gratitude can't grow in the soil of comparison because it constantly says it's not enough. Next, entitlement. Entitlement is another thief. It's the belief that you deserve something before you appreciate what you already have. Entitlement closes the door to gratitude because it turns blessings into expectations. And then there's the third enemy called distraction. This is perhaps the biggest barrier in our modern day world. We're constantly moving, scrolling, and reacting. But gratitude requires stillness, it thrives in awareness. As in Psalms 46, it reminds us to be still and know that I am God. You see, stillness allows the heart to open and see the divine in the ordinary. Now here's the truth the sunlight of gratitude is always shining. But if clouds of comparison, entitlement, and distraction block your view, you forget that it's there. So how do we turn thankfulness from something that we do during the holidays into something that we live? How do we make it our default setting even in the hard times? Well, let me give you five daily practices grounded in both spiritual and scientific evidence that can help you cultivate a lifestyle of gratitude. Practice number one is morning alignment. Before your feet hit the floor, name three things you're thankful for. You see, studies show that starting your day with gratitude shifts the brain's chemistry towards optimism. Spiritually, it signals the universe that you're ready to receive more of what you appreciate. Practice number two is gratitude journaling. Dr. Robert Emanz, a leading researcher on gratitude, found that writing down three blessings a day for two weeks increases happiness and reduces depression for months afterwards. He said, simply put, when we write it down, we anchor it. Now, practice number three is called verbal appreciation. You see, with gratitude, you just can't feel it. You have to speak it. So tell people you appreciate them. Gratitude spoken out loud reinforces neural pathways and strengthens relationships. Proverbs 1821 says, Life and death are in the power of the tongue. When you speak gratitude, you speak life. Practice number four is gratitude in adversity. This is where spiritual maturity shows up. When challenges come, shift from asking why me to asking what is this teaching me? You see, gratitude doesn't ignore pain, it transforms it into wisdom. Dr. Joe Dispenza explains that when we feel gratitude during difficulty, we signal the brain that healing or breakthrough is already on its way. Practice number five is nightly reflection. End your day by asking this simple question. What went right? By doing so, this question rewires your subconscious before sleep, training your brain to notice the positive rather than focusing on what went wrong. Do these five practices daily, and gratitude will stop being something you practice, it will become who you are. Now, as we wrap up this episode, I want to leave you with this thought. Gratitude or thankfulness is not seasonal, it's spiritual. It's not something we express only on good days, it's how we transform ordinary days into extraordinary ones. When you live in gratitude, you step into a divine flow, a rhythm of grace where peace, joy, and abundance naturally multiply. You begin to see that even in waiting, even in uncertainty, there's beauty unfolding. So right now, wherever you are, I want you to pause. Take a slow, deep breath. Think of three things right where you are this moment that you're thankful for. Now let that feeling move through your body like light. Let it center you, calm you, and remind you you already have more than enough. Now, as you go about your day, I want you to remember this. Gratitude isn't about thanking God for what you have, it's about trusting Him and what you're going through. It's living from the awareness that every breath is a gift, every sunrise is a new beginning, and every challenge is an invitation to grow. Well, that's our show for today. We hope that you found this episode both insightful and inspiring. Join us each week for practical tips, actionable insights, and inspiring stories to help you transform your life.

SPEAKER_00:

We hope you can join us. We'll see you soon. To experience a free coaching session with Andre Flax, click the link in the show notes to book your coaching session today or contact him at Andre at TransformativelivingRadio.com. If you enjoyed this episode, leave us a comment wherever you get your podcast and share it with friends.