Give: Gratitude. Intention. Virtue. Empathy.

Hello. Hello. Good day. Good day. It is a great day. Hope that everybody is enjoying their. Their morning, afternoon, whatever time it is, wherever you are. We're. We're so glad to have you here on Cadre, whether you're live or whether you're catching up with us later. I. I'm Bri. I'm a wellness coach. I'm a health coach, I'm a personal trainer. I'm a yogi. I'm all sorts of things. And today I want to talk about. Hey, Ana, good to see you. Today in the season of shopping and crazy sales and advertising and living in a world where consuming is very, very normal, I would like to talk about giving.

It's this mutual exchange, if we allow it to be of giving and receiving. And I know that, you know, as a child, we, hey, speak, wonder. You know, as a child, we are constantly mine, mine, mine, where, you know, you're worried about your toys and you're worried about this and that, and you're bored, whatever it is. And then you grow up and you learn reciprocity and you learn about friendships and that it's good to give. And, you know, and then I think when we get even a little bit older, more into adulthood, reality sets in, right?

We have bills, we have work stress, we have different family dynamics. If we're lucky, we have kids, and we have to go through that whole cycle again with them. It's or dogs. I learn a lot with dogs or animals. But this concept of giving is so crucial, and I feel like we talk about it a lot this time of year. However, there is a little fun acronym that I like to use because sometimes I have run into a situation where I realized that I was giving only to get, get. And I think I realized that probably my late twenties, like, really late to the game, unfortunately, because I was just like, you know, addicts are very.

We want, get, get, get. You know, and giving to get is something I really had to become aware of and grow out of. And once I started giving and donating my time and donating some resources regularly, I realized that this definitely is something that I need to do more of, provided I have the time, because we have to fill our cup first right before we can outpour to others. And that being said, I will say, every time I've had my cup filled and was able to outpour with others, it, like, refilled it right back up all the way to the max.

And so that is also a great lesson in giving is that, like, in a way, you are getting, like, so There is that give to get, but it should. It's an energetic way. It's not just, oh, I'm giving to you so that I can get this promotion or so that you will like me because I'm insecure or whatever example you would like to. To put in there. It's. And so I'm curious if anybody has noticed that. Like, have you ever given so that you could get. And did you notice it? How did it make you feel? Or have you noticed it in others?

Like, so now I. When I see other people do that, I'm just like, I get it. I've been there. It makes it like, less of an annoyance or aggravation because I'm just like, all doing the best we can with what we have right now. And that is part of giving is like, you get this grounded. Like this grounded presence. And so my. My acronym that I. I created for give is. Is gratitude, intention, virtue, and empathy. And yes, I had to read it because sometimes I feel like I could change because there's so many great words that could be put in there instead.

And, you know, it's. These four words are really kind of a way of. Of being. And not only with giving, but just this, like, presence and this, like, almost even like a posture that you can, like, be in. You can be in a state of gratitude and empathy, you know, and when for me, the first thing always comes with gratitude. That was definitely my. My gateway towards just better mental health. And Speak Wonder says, I've given to get. It feels manipulative on my heart. Doesn't hit right. Yeah, it's not.

Yeah, exactly. Once you notice that you've done it, you're just like, oh, man, like, why am I doing this? But really all comes down to we're just like, you know, going through our motions and rehearsing. Like, what do we need to do to get this or do that? Like, we're taught that in school, which is wild. But more joy. Giving to give. Yeah, exactly. That. I. Yes, I've learned that too. It's definitely like, you have to fill or you get more full, I would say. And you get more when. When. When you're giving and it's.

It's not easy if you're in a. In a bad place. And so I. I do want to emphasize that, like, when you are low or. Or if you're spiraling down or you're spiraling way up, either. Either one of those extremes, like, it's kind of hard to give because you're either poor me or like, I'm the greatest thing ever. Screw you guys. You know, like, either one of those spectrums are a little bit detrimental towards, towards our health. And so to reel it back really is to kind of like, ground down in this like, presence of gratitude.

And so that's why I start off with gratitude. It makes us more, more open. It allows us to like, get rid of the ego and the scarcity and mindset and just like, okay, everything, I'm content right now. Like, I've got, I got a Christmas tree right now. I'm so grateful. Like, how awesome this is. Some people don't even get that, you know? And so it's, it's. What I love about gratitude is like, it's, it's internal and you, you're able to lean as presence without being like, loud. Like I'm, you know, like, when you think of gratitude, the energy you think of is not like, I am so grateful.

Oh my God. Like, that's not what you think of. You're just like, ah. It's like a exhale. Like, I am grateful. Heck yeah. You know? And that leads me to intention. I had a, aha moment when I started to realize that I was living out of habit instead of intention. And I wanted, I heard that somewhere and I wanted to flip the script and I wanted to live from intention rather than habit because at that point in my life, my habits weren't all that great. And even so sometimes habits are just an easy way to keep you looped and stuck.

Right? And so it's really important to speak Wonder says it's really important to also receive graciously without spiraling down into, oh, no, I didn't give you a gift. Simply receiving with gratitude. Gratitude, yeah, that's a great point. Because it's like, oh, like. Or yeah, being unable to receive, which I know as, as a woman has been very hard for me. And I see it with a lot of, like, my friends and females in my family, but a lot of, A lot of dudes have a hard time too. And so. Thank you, Speak Wonder.

You know, and so I, I, we, we keep it in mind that it's, it's this dance of giving and receiving. And when you're able to give graciously, you can receive well. And I know that, like, it's all about intention, right? Are you giving to get or are you giving just to give? Like, Speak Wonder said. And this, this intention that you're coming forward with is like, allowing you to stay in this aligned presence and this beautiful, like, higher level of thinking and openness that is less than just your ego kind of pushing you around.

And, and so your intention, living an intentful life allows us to, to really grow and allows us to, to see things for, for what they are. So that we're like, wow, I'm intending this, but unfortunately this is what's happening. I may need to pivot or I may need to step back from this one or that's another thing is like when is when. When is giving too much and when do we have to step back? When it's not aligned anymore, which I could go into a whole conversation of that, but we're not going to. So gratitude.

Living through intention and virtue. Like virtue is such like a, like an old fashioned word, but it's definitely like rooted in this, like this deeper understanding. It allows you to be anchored. Like, speak wonder your talk about hardware pilots yesterday. Like, I learned that was actually like a real job. I just. Which was really cool. But it just shows that there's a lot we don't know. And when you can like, ground down into, harness into truth and into what is, then, you know, the room can get quiet and you are able to hold this space.

And it's not about, like being perfect, but it's just about this, like this anchored, grounded energy. I don't know how else to explain it where you're coming from. It's like when you see somebody that is in like a meeting or just listening or even like a stranger, and they're just like, I want to say stoic, but that's not the word. It's escaping me, what I want to say right now. But, you know, they're just like in their power. That's what I mean. They're in their power and they're just, they're not overdoing it and they're not like being pushed over.

They're just here in their power. And that's what I mean by virtue. Like, just standing into, like, you know your choices, you know your intentions, you know your next step because you know who you are. Powerful, you've done Magnus magnificent things and you are working on this give and receive, this ebb and flow. And I know that that's difficult, but Rachel, MK says when we give without expectation of getting something in return, it ends up so rewarding anyway. Yes, exactly. It's. It's almost like.

So today is national hello Day, if you didn't know. And that is one of the most powerful ways to give, I think, is through a smile and a hello to a random stranger. Like, I Don't know about you. Have you ever been in the grocery store when, like, I usually go in the grocery store when I'm like, I don't. Usually I go grocery shopping. But like, sometimes when I'm sick and I have to go and like get soup or whatever in the grocery store and I, I can remember a person being like, hello, I hope you, you know, how is your day?

I hope you're having a great day. And it's like, geez, well, shucks, thank you so much. I hope you have a great day too. And it just immediately tosses me out of like whatever I was, whatever I was stuck in the muck in. And it just really lets us elevate when, when that person gave freely because they were just genuinely like, hello, how are you doing? And not even, I'm not talking just about like the cashier. I'm talking about just a random person that we like bumped into in the soup aisle and they were just like, oh, yeah, that's a good one.

I really like that too. Like, I've done that too. And so I, I've been touched by random strangers doing that to me in public all the time. And so I tried to do that. When I'm like in a good mood, I'm like, I'm going to, you know, I will make a comment, make a new friend, or definitely just like, hey, yeah, you got this, like at the gym. I'll do that sometimes, like, if it feels right. Like, you know, you kind of have to gauge the situation, but, you know, world, hello day. Give, give to not receive, but simply just to give.

Like, like Rachel said. So Rachel also said truth. You never know how much even the smallest gesture can make someone's day. Even literally save a life. Yeah, so true. So true. We have no clue what people are going through at all. And it's important we consider that when interacting with all of humanity because they have experiences we don't have and different situations that they could be going through, they're not sharing or can be hiding really well. And it's up to us to really try to be that light when we have the capacity to do it.

And that leads me to E, which is empathy. Woo. This one is my favorite. Not because like, so I was told I was an empath years ago, like 10 years ago. And I was like, what is this? Blah, blah, blah. And I've kind of, I've tried to fall away from labels. I don't like to like label pretty much anything anymore because I think it confines you into a box. And then it keeps you, like, I don't want to identify, not label, but identify with things. I'd rather just be free flow and like, let stuff go and aim higher than what somebody tells you you are.

And empathy. That being said, I learned a lot about empathy in this, in this process. And I will say that an empathetic presence is something like people tell me that I have. Like, even in, like, work, my colleagues and evaluations, like, people are just like, you have this empathetic way of interacting with people, which is fantastic. And I know it doesn't come easy to a lot of, of many others, but so I've been, I've been grateful with that. And so, you know, my, my advice is like, I mean, a lot of us are on here.

I assume we have a good understanding of empath empathy. But if not, I would just say, you know, empathy really is this listening. I would call it like the shoulder that your best friend, like, leans on you as to like, I got you. I hear, I hear. I understand what you're going through. I'm not going to fix it. I'm just an open, open ear, open shoulder to cry on. Whatever you need. Like, I, I see you and I hear you. Like, to me, that is, is the empathy I try to exude just so that people can let it out.

Half the time they just, they need somebody to, like, talk to or get something off their chest to kind of move and shift their internal energy. And so oftentimes, hopefully they feel 5% better after they talk to me, but we'll never know. And the point again is like, empathy without expectations, empathy without your own agenda. Right. Like sometimes I. An example would be when, like, with my mom. Parent relationships are always difficult, can be difficult. And I have to go into it like, okay, just listen, don't try to tell her this.

Why, Z? Even though it's the same thing you've heard 7,000 times, like, just, just be empathetic and then let it go. And then after that, you give to yourself. Right? Because I know that me doing that is, unfortunately, it is an act of giving that I have to do or that I was brought into this life to do. And so, and I'm grateful to have a mom to talk to and listen to. So there's that. And yes, Rachel says being empathetic can also be a huge pain too. A hundred percent. Yeah. Sometimes I'm just like, do it in the elevator.

I don't want to hear your life story, like, love you, but, like, not today. And so, yeah, it Definitely comes with its challenges. And sometimes I'm just like, gosh, I'm so grateful that people feel so comfortable to talk to me. And then other times I'm just like, wow, like, I'm hearing so much about your life. But we use those as learning experiences too, right, Rachel? Like, it's just like we. They're telling us for a reason, and so we best listen. And so I'll close out with this. This end of.

Of giving, of gratitude, intention, and virtue and empathy where giving not to get, like many of you have mentioned, and leading from your authentic self and what's. What's real for you, whether you're like, an empath or not. Maybe. Maybe you're. You're more analytical and that's fine, too. Whatever is true to you is how you are meant to lead and grind, as long as you're finding your. Your power and your. Your true authentic intention that will guide you and lead you through life. And that's. That's how I give.

If you guys have another idea or you give in a different way, like, absolutely love to hear it because this is just a little snippet of my journey. And everybody's got these amazing things. I always love learning from other people and contributors here on Cadre. But just remember this season, yes, sometimes being a giver can be a pain, and sometimes when. When you're over giving, right. When you're exhausted. And so I hope that you take care of yourself during these upcoming holidays. And I hope that, like, you know, coming back, grounding into your power is.

Is something that replenishes you or you find something that replenishes you because. Yeah, buckle up, buttercup. We got a lot coming here. We got I don't know how many weeks to six, seven weeks until the end of the year. So just, you know, let your gratitude ground you. Let your intention guide you and let your virtue, like, hold you in. In your place and in your power and let EMP connect you to everyone. So I hope you all have a lovely day. Thank you so much for. For hopping on here. And we will see you next Friday, if not before, but adios, amigos.

Enjoy. And I hope you have a great holiday if you do celebrate Thanksgiving. See you later.