Gratitude is your superpower

Gratitude isn't just a feel-good practice—it's a powerful tool that can completely transform how we experience motherhood. After years of healing from trauma, I've discovered that cultivating gratitude has been the bridge that's continues to carry me from merely surviving to genuinely thriving.

This episode dives deep into practical, realistic ways to incorporate gratitude into your daily life, no matter how busy or challenging your current season may be. Whether you're nursing a newborn, managing toddler tantrums, or navigating the complex emotions of raising older children, these strategies can fit seamlessly into your actual life—not some idealized version that requires hours of quiet contemplation.

The beauty of gratitude isn't that it erases our challenges—it doesn't. But it does widen our perspective to remember the joy that exists alongside difficulty. As mothers healing from our own past experiences while trying to create something different for our children, this wider perspective isn't just nice—it's necessary for breaking the cycle of survival mode.

Ready to discover how finding just one thing to be grateful for each day can change everything?

Thank you so much for listening in! If this episode spoke to you, it would mean the world to me if you left a review or shared it with a friend. And don’t forget to tag me so I can personally thank you for helping me spread the word.

Follow and chat with me on Instagram:

Podcast account - @thrivelikeamother.podcast

Personal account - @thrive.empowered

Sending you light and love always!

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hey, love, I'm Ebony and welcome to Thrive Like a
Mother On this podcast.
We're scared for our truth, butthat fear is what fuels us to
truly live in it.
You're in the right place ifyou feel like you're stuck in
survivor mode and you're readyto step into who you were truly

(00:20):
meant to be.
I'll share resources and toolsI use daily to help you in your
journey towards a healthiermindset and to break the wheel
of survival.
The journey may not be easy,but you won't have to face it
alone.
I'm a mama of three, healingday by day from past trauma, and
I'm on a mission to build alife I've always dreamed of but

(00:42):
never thought was possible.
So, love, if you're ready tobelieve in what's possible,
let's link arms and thrivetogether.
Okay, so now that we understandthe power of gratitude right in

(01:06):
our life and the way that itcan truly impact our happiness,
I want to share with y'all, ofcourse, some practical ways that
y'all can take with today'sepisode and start implementing,
like immediately, right, today,today, even so.
First of all, start small.

(01:27):
One thing a day is enough tostart off right, and the more
you consistently record, takethe time to record that one
thing a day that you notice willstart to increase.
You'll start to notice, wow, Iwant to add that to my list,
this happened today.
I want to also add that to mylist.
You'll start to notice, wow, Iwant to add that to my list.
This happened today.
I want to also add that to mylist.

(01:47):
You'll start to see things in adifferent way.
You'll start even the small andbig right.
You'll start to notice, wow,that makes me so grateful, you
know, for my life you want toknow those things, but start
with one a day.
Number two you want to keep itaccessible, right?
So think about in your seasonof life, right now, where you're

(02:10):
at, what works best for you.
Is it keeping a journal thatyou can quickly pull out and
write your gratitude?
Is it keeping it on a notes appthat you can quickly get into
your phone and do, or is it evena voice memo?
There was a time, especiallywhen Henry was very, very, very
little you know I didn't have asmuch of my hands to use I would

(02:34):
often use the voice notes app,especially for those thoughts
where I thought, man, this isgoing to take a while to type
out those things.
Go ahead and just record yourvoice, talk to yourself, listen
back to those moments.
Number three make it a ritual,whether it's with your morning

(02:55):
coffee, or right before you'regoing to bed, or after every
meal.
Start to think of places thatyou can say I'm also going to
include this in my life.
Now, for me, I do a mixture ofthese, right.
I will, at the end of the day,before bed, take a moment to

(03:17):
look over things I may havenoted throughout the day, but
then it's also space and timefor me, before I go to sleep, to
take a moment and at leastthink of the things that
occurred through my day that Ican list.
Now.
Y'all this is magic, because onthose hard days where maybe you
felt like nothing could happenthat day, you will always find

(03:37):
at least one thing, one thingthat you can be grateful for and
that can help you as you'regoing to sleep, go to bed, you
know, with a heart of gratitude,instead of going to bed of, oh,
like this is heavy.
This day was heavy.
Now, of course, you know it'snormal to feel things like that,
but having your gratitude isgoing to help lighten things up

(04:00):
for you, help pull you up againand get specific right, instead
of just saying the typicalthings, like I'm grateful for my
kids, like I gave the exampleearlier of Henry smiling at me
or running up and hugging meAnother example I'm grateful for
the deep belly laughs that weshared during dinner today.

(04:21):
Or I'm grateful for the dancesession we had in the kitchen
today, whatever that is for you,get specific.
And then y'all the last onealways return to it.
If that's on a monthly basisfor you, I usually keep that
task for me at the end of themonth and I will go through and
review all of the things thathappened to me for the month.

(04:44):
But even throughout the year,y'all go back to previous months
, even if it's not the monththat you're finishing.
Go back to the beginning of theyear and see how beautiful the
start of this year was.
Right.
You want to return to thosenotes often Because, like I said
, those are your moments ofproof that good things are truly
always happening for you.

(05:05):
And so I want to bring us intothe guided meditation portion of
this podcast, and I'm reallyexcited because it's been a
while since I've done ameditation for y'all, but I feel
like this one, it is needed.
It is necessary especially aswe are entering in the last few
months of the year.

(05:25):
This is something you're goingto want to come back to as
you're thinking and reflectingover all that has happened over
2025.
This year has flown, flown by.
This is your moment to stepinto the power of gratitude
right now, and so, wherever youare, if it feels safe I know, if

(05:47):
you're driving, please don'tclose your eyes.
I need you to, you know, keepyour eyes on the road, but if
you're in a safe place, I wantyou to get comfortable and I
invite you to close your eyesand take a deep breath, and

(06:09):
through your nose, and slowlyexhale out through your mouth.
We're going to do that againInhale in through your nose, in
through your nose, exhale outthrough your mouth and, as you

(06:36):
do this, allow your shouldersand your body to start to
naturally relax, unclench yourjaw and feel your body just
start to soften just a littlebit more with every breath that
you take.
If you want to do another deepbreath, you can do that as well.

(07:01):
Now I want you to bring to mindone thing that you're grateful
for today.
It doesn't have to be somethingthat's major.
Maybe it was the sound of yourchild's laughter today, or maybe
it was the warmth of yourmorning coffee or your tea, or
even the fact that you made itto another day, maybe it's.

(07:29):
You are grateful for the breathyou have to continue throughout
the day, and I want you to holdon to whatever that thing is
right.
However that thing is, hold itin your mind, and I want you to

(07:50):
take a breath and allow thatgratitude to fill your entire
body.
Notice how it softens yourchest, notice how it starts to
ease your mind.

(08:13):
And I want you to think of asecond thing that you're
grateful for, and again it doesnot have to be anything major,
it doesn't matter how small youthink it is.
It just has to be somethingthat brought a moment of ease,
or something that brought joyinto your life today.

(08:35):
I want you to hold that righthere in your heart.
I want you to hold that righthere in your heart, deep breath
in Out through the mouth.
I want to do one more, y'all.

(08:55):
What is the third thing thatyou're grateful for today?
Right now, hold space for today.
Right now, hold space for it inyour heart, breathe in through
your nose, allow that to fillyour entire being, allow it to

(09:23):
fill you up with joy, withgratitude, and breathe out
through your mouth.
And as we are sitting withthese three things that we are
grateful for today, I want youto repeat after me, either out
loud or in your heart goodthings are always happening for

(09:48):
me.
I am open to joy, even in thelittle moments.
I choose gratitude.
Today, I want you to take onemore deep breath, let it go and,

(10:12):
when you're ready, gently startto bring movement back into
your body, maybe wiggle yourtoes or your fingers and, if you
had your eyes closed, start toflutter your eyes open.
And I want you to return toyour day carrying this gratitude

(10:37):
with you, allowing it to fillyour entire being, allowing it
to fill you with joy.
And I truly hope that today'sepisode and this meditation
helped you feel just a littlebit lighter, a little bit more
grounded in the present Y'allgratitude.

(10:59):
It does not, like I said earlier, it does not erase the
challenges we face.
Those will always be there butit does remind us that, even in
those hard seasons, eventhroughout the challenges and
the obstacles, there is alwaysstill beauty, always hope, still
abundance, always still wealthand joy all around us and in

(11:23):
your life, every single day.
And so my gratitude practice.
It has changed the way that Isee my life and I truly, truly
believe that it can do that foryou too, and so you don't have
to overcomplicate it.
So you don't have toovercomplicate it.
Start with a note in your phone,start with one sentence at

(11:45):
night, in the morning, after ameal, and take a moment to
notice something good about yourlife and write it down.
Note it down so that youremember it and always remember
that good things are alwayshappening for you, even when it
does not feel like it are alwayshappening for you, even when it
does not feel like it.

(12:06):
Gratitude y'all is how we beginto notice those moments a
little bit more.
Now, if this episode, today'smeditation, if it resonated with
you today, I'd love to hearwhat came up for you during the
meditation, what you aregrateful for today, what
gratitude you allowed to fillyour space today.

(12:27):
Send me a DM or tag me onInstagram.
I want to celebrate all thatyou are grateful for every day,
because good things are alwayshappening for you.
So until next time, loves, keeppracticing the gratitude, keep
noticing the good and the beautyin life and keep thriving.

(12:50):
Thank you so much for listening.
Love.
If anything in today's episoderesonated with you, share it
with your bestie or share it onsocial media and tag me so we
can chat about it, as always,sending you light and love, and
remember you are worthy, you areenough and you deserve to

(13:11):
thrive.