Daily Anchors: Gratitude, Affirmation, and Intention | 176

Welcome to Follow Your Gut. Daily Anchors.

I’m Juniper, and I’ll be guiding you in this daily embodiment practice for grounding, expansion, and self-leadership.

Go ahead and find a comfortable position wherever you are. You don’t need to sit a certain way or do anything special. You can be lying down, sitting, or listening while moving through your day. Just allow your body to arrive.

If it feels good, gently close your eyes. And if not, soften your gaze.

Take a slow breath in through your nose.
And a long breath out through your mouth.

Roll your shoulders forward and up toward your ears, and then roll them back and down. Opening up your heart space and allowing your shoulders to relax.

Let your jaw unclench.
Let your body know that, for these few minutes, there is nowhere else you need to be.

Today’s anchoring practice is about gratitude, affirmation, and intention. Not as concepts, but as daily practices that change how your body experiences life.

So often, especially when we are healing or supporting our child or someone we love through healing, our attention becomes very zoomed in. We focus on what’s wrong, what needs to change, what feels hard, what still isn’t better yet.

This makes sense. Our brains are wired to look for problems to solve.

But when we live only in that zoomed-in space, we unintentionally give more power to what feels broken than to what is actually working. And over time, that keeps the nervous system in a state of vigilance instead of safety.

Gratitude is one of the most powerful ways to gently zoom out.

Not to bypass the pain.
Not to pretend things are perfect.
But to remind your body that life is happening right now, and there is more here than just what feels hard.

Gratitude creates safety.
And safety is what allows affirmation to actually land in the body.

So before we move any further, I want to slow this down and talk about what affirmations really are.

Because affirmations are not about pretending everything is perfect.
They are not about forcing yourself to believe something you don’t believe.
And they are not about bypassing what’s real.

Affirmations are simply intentional thoughts.

They are the thoughts you choose to practice on purpose, instead of letting your mind run only on habit, fear, or survival mode.

Your body believes what it experiences repeatedly.
So when you repeat a thought with full presence and consistency, your nervous system begins to recognize it as familiar. And over time, familiar becomes safe.

This is where gratitude comes in.

Gratitude creates safety in the body.
And when the body feels safe, it becomes receptive.

When we affirm something with gratitude, we are not saying, “This has to happen or I won’t be okay.”

We’re saying,
“This is already available to me.”
“I am already safe enough to hold this.”
“I can begin to feel this now, even as I grow into it.”

Affirmations gently guide your attention toward what you want to experience more of, while allowing your body to stay grounded in what is happening right now.

This matters so much, because what we focus on consistently shapes what our nervous system expects.
What our nervous system expects shapes how we show up.
And how we show up is what changes our lives.

This is why gratitude and affirmation work so beautifully together.
Gratitude anchors you in the present.
Affirmation opens you to what’s possible.

And when those two meet, the body feels safe enough to believe what you are affirming.

So let’s begin there.

Before we affirm anything, I want you to bring to mind three things you feel grateful for right now.

These don’t need to be big or impressive.

They can be simple.
Your bed.
The way the light looks in the room.
Your breath.
A warm drink.
The sound of your child sleeping peacefully.
Your body carrying you through another day.

Let the first three things that come to mind be enough.

And just notice how your body responds when you bring your attention there.

This is why I love the practice of choosing gratitude before you even open your eyes in the morning. Before the to-do list. Before the noise. Before the responsibilities rush in.

Ty’s therapist recently shared this with him. He encouraged him to think of three things he is grateful for before he even opens his eyes. Ty really explained the power of this best.

He said, “Once I’m up, my brain is already set in its way for the day. But those few seconds give me the power to influence how I want the day to feel.”

That is exactly what this work is about.
Claiming your inner environment before the world claims it for you.

Now let’s move into affirmation so can combine these two simple concepts into one powerful practice.

Affirmations, again, are simply thoughts we choose on purpose.
And what we practice thinking becomes what our bodies believe.

One of my favorite thought leaders Jen Sincero says it so beautifully.
Our thoughts become our beliefs.
Our beliefs become our actions.
Our actions become our lives.

So right now, I invite you to state your deepest desires as if they are already true. The more specific you are, the more powerful they are. 

It will sound something like this: 

“I am so happy that…”

Let it be honest.
Let it be specific.
Let it be something you deeply desire, even if part of you doesn’t know how it will unfold yet.

You might say,
“I am so happy that my body is healthy and resilient.”
“I am so happy that my child’s skin is clear and healthy.”
“I am so happy that my home feels calm and joyful.”

There is no right answer here.
This is about what feels alive and true for you. Something that you are really calling in.

If it feels helpful, go ahead and repeat your affirmation a few times, either silently or out loud.
And if you need a little more time, you can pause this episode here and give yourself a moment to really let it land.

As you repeat it, notice how your body responds.

You’re not looking for fireworks.
You’re just noticing.

Does your breath soften?
Does your chest feel a little more open?
Does anything relax, even slightly?

That’s your nervous system beginning to recognize this thought as familiar and safe.

And if you notice the opposite, that’s important information too.

Maybe your body tightens.
Maybe your breath feels shallow.
Maybe your chest constricts or your jaw clenches.

That doesn’t mean the affirmation is wrong.
It doesn’t mean you shouldn’t want it.

It simply means this thought is new to your nervous system.

And that’s okay.

This practice isn’t about forcing your body to immediately agree.
It’s about gently introducing new thoughts over time, with patience and consistency, so your nervous system can slowly learn that they are safe.

Okay, so this is the power of affirmation paired with gratitude.
You’re not forcing a belief.
You’re allowing your body to practice a new orientation.

Now I want to build on this with a third practice that helps you carry this energy into your actual day.

This is called intention setting through segmenting.

Segmenting is a concept shared by Esther Hicks, and it’s a way of intentionally choosing how you want to feel as you move from one part of your day into the next.

Most of us move through our days on autopilot.
We carry the energy from one moment into the next without realizing it.
Stress from the morning spills into the afternoon.
A hard conversation lingers into the rest of the day.

Segmenting is how we pause, reset, and consciously enter a new moment.

It is as simple as acknowledging that “Okay. I’m moving into a new segment now.”

That segment might be getting out of bed.
Getting in your car.
Starting your work day.
Making dinner.
Picking up your child.
Lying down to rest.
Pushing record on a podcast episode.
Or even pressing play on one.

Every part of our day can be broken down into small, meaningful segments.

Before you move into the next segment, you gently choose both the intention and the tone you want to carry with you.

Before you get out of bed, you might set the intention for the kind of day you want to have and take a moment to visualize yourself moving through it with ease.

Before you get in the car, you set the intention to arrive safely, to be present, alert, and grounded as you drive.

Before you start your work day, you choose how you want to show up. Focused. Calm. Clear.

Before you make dinner or pick up your child, you pause for just a breath and decide how you want to feel in your body as you move through that moment.

Every segment becomes an opportunity to lead yourself instead of being a victim to an unclaimed outcome.

So before you move into the next segment, you simply choose an intention. Gosh, sometimes it is really simple like sending a text message to your partner and before you write it, acknowledging that that is a small segment of it’s own. Set your intention to be fully present in that message and communicate clearly. 

This practice pairs so beautifully with gratitude and affirmation because it brings the work out of your head and into real life.

You’re no longer just thinking differently.
You’re living differently, moment by moment.

If you’re someone who likes structure, you might find it helpful to write this down at first.
 I had to do that myself. I literally wrote,
 “I am entering a new segment now. In this segment, I am…”

I wrote it until my brain learned the pattern.

Because this is how we take ownership of our inner world.
And when we don’t set intentions, we leave ourselves vulnerable to the noise, urgency, and chaos around us.

For the next two weeks, I invite you to keep this very simple.

Each day:
Notice three things you’re grateful for before you even open your eyes in the morning.
Choose one affirmation that feels deeply meaningful. Something that you are really desiring right now. 
And as you move through your day, start noticing how it naturally breaks into small segments. As many times as you can remember, pause briefly and set an intention for the segment you’re entering.

Let each day build on the last.

Let it slowly become habit.

Let it become second nature.

Life will be full.
Rhythms will be shift in and out of flow.
Some days you’ll remember, and some days you won’t.

That doesn’t mean the practice isn’t working.
Returning is the practice.

And when you return, again and again, your body learns something so powerful.
You are paying attention.
You are leading yourself.
And you are safe to want more while honoring what already is.

Let’s take one final breath together. In the nose and out through the mouth.

As you come out of this practice, take a moment to gently set your anchors for the day.

Today, I commit to nourishing my body with microbiome friendly food and abundant water.

Today, I choose to support my mind, brain, nervous system, and liver with my rebalancing or maintenance supplements.

Today, I trust that I am safe, and that everything is always working for me.

And today, I will choose one small action that supports the life I am affirming.

Let this practice orient your day and remind you that alignment is built through small, consistent choices.

May your heart feel supported, your body feel safe, and your intuition lead your day.

Trust your body. Follow your gut.