The Power of Gratitude to Overcome Fears & Achieve Goals

Feel stressed out by the holidays? It should be a special time spent with family and friends as we set goals for the upcoming year, yet fear, anger and stress often get in the way. In this episode, we dive into the antidote to those – gratitude.

Resources mentioned on this podcast:

Episode timestamps:

[01:03] The two emotions that mess up our lives more than any other

[01:54] How to intentionally focus on using the power of gratitude

[02:28] Using a tool, like the Elite Journal, to make gratitude a habit

[03:11] “It makes much more sense to live in the present tense” – Eddie Vedder

[03:31] How gratitude powers big goal setting

[04:22] Mark Batterson’s ‘Lion Chaser’s Manifesto’ to inspire set big goals

[05:22] “Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.” – Marianne Williamson

Transcript

* This transcript was mostly generated by AI, so please excuse any mistakes, and enjoy!

00:00:00] Patrick: Hello and welcome to Live Fit, Ignite Change. We’re together as a community. We inspire each other to live a fit life. Ignite the change we wish to see and thrive in all areas of life.

 [00:00:16] Alright. Today’s episode is different from the others. It’s a quick one and actually, a message I need to hear myself. Based on our current holiday season and upcoming New Year when people often set goals to Live Fit or Ignite Change or improve in aspects of their lives.

 [00:00:30] Here’s the issue. This time of year, there’s a lot of time spent with family and friends and of course, you want to enjoy the time together, yet there can be quite a lot of stress in our lives as well, especially, with all the things we have to do.

 [00:00:44] You see, our brains evolved from a time when we always had to look for something wrong for our protection to survive. So, if we’re wired to find something wrong, we’ll think about that. Something to be stressed or worried about, something we did wrong, that was embarrassing, we keep dwelling on it or something frustrating that made us angry.

 [00:01:03] All of these come from two emotions. As Tony Robbins often mentions, there are two emotions that mess up our lives more than any other. Hurting relationships, careers and keeping us from living the life we’ve always imagined. Those two are anger and fear. Yet, there is an antidote to all of these negative emotions, and that is simply gratitude. As Tony says, “You cannot be angry and grateful at the same time.”

 [00:01:30] Think about it. Have you ever thought back to a time in your life when you had a great memory or something that made you smile from ear to ear? A time when you were lit up with joy and you really reflected on it and lived in that moment, like you were there again, that smile comes back, those emotions come back, and that is the power of gratitude.

 [00:01:49] We often do these gratitude meditations practices at our events since this practice is so important. But what if you intentionally focused on finding three things you were grateful for each day, it’s not just about thinking about it, but actually feeling it. Step back like you are there, in that moment that made you feel so joyful and experience that feeling. It could be from something 20 years ago, last year, yesterday, whenever it was, but step back and feel how you felt then. And schedule time for this each day, so it becomes part of your routine and becomes a habit. Use tools to help make it happen.

 [00:02:28] In our Elite Journal, that’s what the daily pages start with. Three things you are grateful for. It’s a great way to start the day. We must have the discipline to take the small daily actions to overcome the fear, anger, worry and negative thoughts, so we really can thrive in all aspects of life.

 [00:02:46] For me, one of the biggest issues is when I feel like I’ve let others down by not doing my best, so I could dwell on that, yet I have to have the discipline to be grateful for that. You failed? Good. It’s an opportunity to grow. And while there’s no way to change the past so there’s no need to dwell on it. There is a way to change the future and that is an opportunity to improve and make the outcome even better the next time.

 [00:03:11] As Eddie Vedder sings in Pearl Jam’s song ‘Present Tense,’ “You can spend your time alone redigesting past regrets. Or you can come to terms and realize you’re the only one who can’t forgive yourself. It makes much more sense to live in the present tense.”

 [00:03:29] Then once you are in a grateful state, you’ll be in a much better state of mind to be able to cast the vision for where you want to go and have the joy, confidence and energy to know you can make it happen. So after you’ve relived those feelings of being grateful, then it’s time to see the vision of your ideal future. And go out to a place in the future where you have just achieved one of your biggest goals and you’re celebrating with your loved ones and you feel how that feels like you are living in that moment of joy.

 [00:04:00] Again, in our Elite Journal, this is why the space to write your top goals on each day comes right after what you are grateful for. It’s in this positive state you really can best envision your future goals, and especially, your really big goals. As Mark Batterson shares in his book ‘Chase the Lion,’ “If your dream doesn’t scare you, it’s too small.”

 [00:04:22] Many of us often read this book this time of year to prepare for goal setting in the New Year. And in it, Mark shares his ‘Lion Chaser’s Manifesto’ which goes like this, “Quit living as if the purpose of living is to arrive safely at death. Run to the roar. Set God-sized goals. Pursue God-given passions. Go after a dream that is destined to fail without divine intervention. Stop pointing out problems. Become part of the solution. Stop repeating the past. Start creating the future. Face your fears. Fight for your dreams. Grab opportunity by the mane and don’t let it go! Live like today is the first day and last day of your life. Burn sinful bridges. Blaze new trails. Live for the applause of nail-scarred hands. Don’t let what’s wrong with you keep you from worshiping what’s right with God. Dare to fail. Dare to be different. Quit holding out. Quit holding back. Quit running away. Chase the lion!”

 [00:05:22] What holds us back in life is our fears, yet when you take a closer look, you may realize that our fears are not exactly what you thought they were. As Marianne Williamson shared in her book, ‘A Return to Love,’ including one particular passage in the book that’s become a popular message and that is,  “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, ‘Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?’ Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it is in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

 [00:06:33] So with that, if you start to feel stressed, overwhelmed, worried, angry, frustrated or dwell on insecurities or fear, use the power of gratitude to rise above these. Face your fears, set God-size goals, let your light shine and put in the hard work to make it happen. As my grandfather wrote in a letter to me before he died, and I believe this message applies to everyone in this world. He wrote, “You have everything you need to be successful in this world. Just put yourself in God’s hands and make it happen.”

 [00:07:08] Well, I hope you enjoy this. And as always, if you resonated with this and would like to go deeper, you can join our community at LiveFitIgniteChange.com/start or learn more about our Fit Life Challenge at FitLifeChallenge.com and you can find all the links to the books, resources mentioned in this episode at LiveFitIgniteChange.com/gratitude

 [00:07:31] Also, if you enjoyed this, please share it with a friend and leave us a 5-star review, so together, as a community, we can ignite the change we wish to see. In all you do, may you go forth to light, love and serve the world and live the life you always imagined.