The Downside Of Gratitude

Gratitude, take one.

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He's so gentle. Jonathan told me he's not that gentle.

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[crosstalk 00:00:05] I don't know.

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I would think he's gentle. I don't know, Jonathan.

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Off camera?

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Hey, it's Marie Forleo, and you are watching MarieTV, the place to be to create a business and life you love. And this is not Q&A Tuesday, it's a special episode of MarieTV in honor of the US holiday, Thanksgiving. And today, we're going to talk about the dark side of an often cheery topic. Today, I want to talk to you about the downside of gratitude. Being grateful seems like a harmless turkey day ritual, but really, it's a dangerous state of mind. Let me explain. Look, we all have negative thoughts from time to time. "I don't have enough money. My house sucks. I'm having a bad hair day." I don't have those. Just kidding. Or, "Why is this person flying in first class and I'm stuck and coach?" Yada, yada, yada.

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Complaining can be an easy way to bond with people. Feeling like things are less than perfect can be an automatic place for your mind to rest, kind of like a big negative fluffy pillow. Well, watch out because a little gratitude will yank that fluffy pillow right out from underneath you. Gratitude kills. It kills self pity, it kills jealousy, it kills bitterness, and it kills regret. It's kind of like Raid, it kills negative thoughts dead. And you want to know how fast acting it is? Check this out. Here is a stat from a study done by professor Emmons at UC Davis. People who kept a gratitude journal for just three weeks measured 25% higher on life satisfaction.

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They exercise more, they drank less alcohol, and their families and friends noticed that they were nicer to be around. How cool is that? And the effects lasted for several months beyond the initial three week study. So here's the deal. The only downside to gratitude is that you have to give up some time sucking negative habits and emotional patterns that hold you back. Because it's talked about so much and we're supposed to be grateful on Thanksgiving, it's really easy to dismiss gratitude as just self-helpy or a once a year kind of thing. But the truth is, gratitude is one of the most fast acting tools for personal transformation.

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No matter what negative state you find yourself in, no matter how bad things seem, the simple act of writing things down that you're grateful for will instantly change your mood. And if you do it consistently, it will totally transform your life. If you're saying, "Yeah, yeah. I get the whole gratitude thing," but you don't actually do it, you are doing yourself a disservice. Now listen up because this is a Tweetable. Gratitude is more powerful than any pill you can pick up at the pharmacy. It's a natural mood enhancer. No dry mouth, no constipation, and no hot dog fingers. The only side effect is the one I warned you about.

Loss of negative thoughts, loss of pity parties, inability to stay stuck in a miserable state, absence of limiting and soul-sucking beliefs, a lack of ability to blame your parents for everything that's wrong with you.

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Pretty great, right? So let's get this gratitude party started right now. In the comments below, I want you to tell me at least 10 things you're grateful for. Then I want you to report any instant side effects, and I should not be hearing about hot dog fingers. I'm going to do it too, over where the gratitude party is taking place at marieforleo.com. So go there now and leave a comment. Now, before I go, do you want to know one of the things I'm most grateful for? It's you. MarieTV is one of the things I love most in my life and getting to connect with you each and every week is awesome. I so appreciate your emails, and your comments, and everything that you share with me. So thank you again. I am deeply, deeply appreciative.

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Did you like this video? If so, subscribe and share it with your friends. And if you want even more great resources to have a business and a life you love, plus personal insights from me that I only talk about in email, get your butt over to marieforleo.com and sign up for email updates. Stay on your game and keep going for your dreams. The world needs that special gift that only you have. Thank you so much for watching this special episode of MarieTV. I'm sending you and your family all of my love. Catch you next time. B-School is coming up. Want in? For more info and free training, go to joinbschool.com. That's what having tacos does. Boogers? This is what happens when you feed me Mexican food.