Practice Gratitude
Can you believe it? Thanksgiving is next week!
That means we are halfway through National Gratitude Month. So how is that going for you? Are you setting aside time for your own reflections on gratitude each day? Maybe taking some time in staff meetings to recognize the good things?
If you haven’t been intentional about gratitude in either your personal or your business life, it might feel a little artificial or forced at first. Some people may save it all up to have something to say at the table at Thanksgiving. Or express it randomly, out-of-the-blue, when no one is expecting it.
If you want gratitude to have the greatest possible impact, it’s important to make it a consistent part of your personal routine and your business culture. Like anything else, the more you practice gratitude, the better you get at noticing things to be thankful for and the easier it is to express your grateful feelings.
Doing these three things will help you to make gratitude part of your personal life and business culture:
- See it – Being grateful starts with recognizing the positive things that are happening every day. At work, we can get into task mode and focus on what needs to be done. Taking focused time each day to look at things with appreciative eyes will bring big improvements in your emotional and physical well-being.
- Speak it – It’s not enough to just notice what you’re grateful for, it’s important to express that gratitude…to your team, your family and your customers. Sharing your thanks encourages others to do the same.
- Systematize it. Whatever your preferred ways to show gratitude, create systems to support them. Make it easy to stay in the practice of gratitude. Try adding gratitude checkpoints to your business processes. There’s no end of ways to show you care, so play around and see what works for you and your team, then commit to it. You’ll be grateful you did!
Today and every day, we are thankful for you…our team, our colleagues and partners, and our customers. May your lives be filled with many things to be grateful for.
Blessings,
