Gratitude (yes, it really does impact your attitude)

The healing power of gratitude, a kind reminder, and a heart-opening flow make up this week's issue of Settling Inn.

Dec 01, 2022

In grade school, one of my teachers had a big sign in her classroom that read, “Your gratitude impacts your attitude.”

I mockingly recited it every day, even though I had no idea what it meant. As I got older, any time I heard the word “gratitude,” I would facetiously chime in with the "YoUr GrAtiTudE iMpAcTs YoUr AtTiTuDe” out of habit.

I knew what gratitude was, but I really only recognized it as an emotion. It wasn’t until I started to practice gratitude regularly that I noticed it more as a disposition, an affective trait that I possessed that actually made me a lot happier. Like… a lot happier.

Gratitude is an acknowledgment of the goodness in our lives - whether it's a tangible or intangible gift from someone else, the feeling of having a roof over your head, or a shared smile with a stranger. Gratitude is a thankful appreciation of all that makes you feel warm, cozy, heard, and seen. Being grateful and expressing gratitude helps you connect with other people, nature, and a higher power.

Expressing gratitude is powerful work. I’ve learned that it’s hard for our brain to switch to appreciation since it’s always working on problem-solving. Once we practice gratitude, though, it can shift our mental and physical health. Studies have shown that gratitude can improve sleep, mood, and immunity, while decreasing depression, anxiety, and disease risk.

Feelings of thankfulness help us form better relationships, bask in good experiences, and overcome challenges.

Gratitude is healing.

NOTE FROM ME:

I couldn’t wait to put this post out because it was one of the very first I thought of when I started this newsletter. I almost put it out first, but my brain is wired with marketing at the forefront, and I knew that for this publication to make sense, I had to start with the “About Me” post first, and then I got swept into the seasons.

I wanted this to go out before Thanksgiving, but once I started receiving email after email about deals and sales, I started to feel anxious.

I kept thinking, “I need to get this email out! I need to get this email out!”

It wasn’t until Thanksgiving Day that I got seven email notifications in a row from brands thanking me for being a subscriber and to look out for their Black Friday sale that I realized I didn’t need to be part of that noise. I started Settling Inn to serve as an online retreat away from the internet's chaos and consumerism. I wanted this to be something different and to feel different not just for you, my subscribers, but for me as a writer and content curator.

As a reader, I can always tell when someone’s heart and energy aren’t in it. Can’t you? I knew I couldn’t let something that makes me so happy and feel so moved get swept up in marketing rules and structure. And I think you might have something in your life that makes you feel this way, too.

Settling Inn brings me peace, and I feel so grateful to have this community that is growing in subscriptions every week.

It makes my heart leap for joy when I receive a message from someone who has read an issue, and something resonated with them or motivated them to do something more (or less.)

So thank you so much for following along on this journey with me. It means the world. And more is coming. So much more is coming.

You don’t need a Thanksgiving email to remind you to express gratitude. You can express it any time. So give it a try. Come back to this issue any time. Work through the journal prompts I created, listen to this gorgeous song about family gratitude, and open your heart chakra with this beautiful, juicy flow my yoga teacher friend Emily put together. Let the gratitude flow freely from your heart.

You just might find that feeling and expressing gratitude will indeed impact your attitude.

All my love,

Adele

FLOW

I asked my friend Emily if she could put together a gratitude flow for me and she sent created a whole video so that you can flow right alongside her. This is a really beautiful practice. You can feel your heart chakra warming up as you go. It’s 12 minutes, but it expresses a lifetime of love. Thank you so much for sharing your gift with us, Emily!

[CLICK HERE TO FLOW WITH EMILY]

Emily is an Instructor and YTT Trainer at Om Lounge in Pittsburgh, PA. Her classes will give you a balance of the “mind stuff” while also challenging your body. She’s always down to laugh at herself and encourages her students not to take themselves too seriously either. She believes your time on your mat should be when you feel most comfortable in your skin and where you are in your practice that day.

LISTEN

I started crying tears of joy when I first heard this song. It made me think of how many times I felt like giving up and those countless days when I told myself I wasn’t enough, and how there is a long line of family who had those days, too, and instead of giving up, they pushed forward. They had to find some joy in knowing their sacrifices and love would build beautiful next generations who would keep growing and spreading love. It can be easy to forget where we came from, but hopefully, this song calls to mind your parents, grandparents, great-great-great grandparents, and all the greats before that. So many people had to survive for you to arrive. I think my heart just grew 10x bigger writing that.