In Gratitude

"None is more impoverished than the one who has no gratitude.

Gratitude is a currency that we can mint for ourselves,

and spend without fear of bankruptcy."

-Fred DeWitt VanAmburgh

We're about to celebrate Thanksgiving Day in the U.S. Although Thanksgiving has been set aside each year for us to remember what we are grateful for, I think this is a habit that would revolutionize the world if we all took pause daily to think about five things we are grateful for. Okay…even one thing we are grateful for!

You may be asking yourself, "What does gratitude have to do with being more productive?  I thought this newsletter was about productivity and getting organized?"  I've found a very strong correlation between gratitude and productivity.  Productivity is not just about doing more things faster, but about keeping your focus on doing the right things. 

Personally, I've found that I am much more energized and productive when I focus on all that I am grateful for, and I feel de-energized and unproductive when I focus on what I am NOT grateful for. This past year I have focused on gratitude more than I have in any years past. It’s amazing what has manifested in my life as a result.  

Whatever you focus on expands.  The key is to get clear about what you are grateful for and what you want to attract more of in your life and stay focused on it!  Of course, we all have times when we get stuck in the rutt of focusing on something that we are not grateful for or something that we do not want more of.  When this happens, it's helpful to ask yourself, "Where is the gift in all of this?  What am I grateful for?" 

A friend of mine shared some of his experiences growing up with an abusive alcoholic father. Although these childhood experiences were not pleasant, he told me that he was grateful for all them.  Some of his greatest gifts and strengths as an adult were developed as a result of what he experienced as a child.  He has learned to embrace his life experiences and be grateful for it all.  I know someone else who grew up in similar circumstances. As an adult, he is bitter, disconnected, and lives a "victim" life, looking for every handout that he can get from the government, while taking little or no responsibility for his own circumstances.  After all, he is focused on what the world owes him because of his less-than-ideal upbringing. 

Here we have two adults with similar childhoods, yet they are living vastly different lives today.  One lives in a beautiful home, runs the business of his dreams, and shares his life with a beautiful family.  The other fears becoming homeless, has no job, is divorced and has no relationship with his daughter.  What's the difference?  One is focused on gratitude and moving forward productively. The other is focused on being a victim, blaming others, and is not taking productive action to change his circumstances. Both of these adults are getting more of what they are focused on.

I remember hearing a story about a homeless man whose only worldly possessions were the clothes on his back. He spent most of each day focused on what he did not have. Then one day he saw a pencil lying on the ground and he picked it up. He started playing with the pencil, and eventually he began to write with it. He discovered that he enjoyed writing and he was good at it. Soon he started sharing what he wrote with others, and they encouraged him to write more. Eventually he became a published author. It all started when he decided to be grateful for what he had -- a pencil. Such a simple thing, and yet how easy it would have been for him to cast that pencil aside and continue focusing on what he didn’t have.

Cultivating gratitude in our lives can take a little practice, especially if you are not accustomed to focusing on what you are grateful for. Three years ago I sank into a deep depression after our daughter left home for college and my husband and I became empty-nesters. In the depths of my depression, a friend called to check on me.  She asked if I would commit to beginning each day by sending a card of gratitude or appreciation to someone I cared about for the next seven days. I promised that I would do that. The first couple days it was really hard, because I was not in a place where I felt like I was grateful for much of anything. But eventually I thought of something and I sent a card. Each day it got easier. By the end of the seven days, my depression had lifted. Getting out of my "pity party" and thinking about who and what I was grateful for had a profound impact on me.

"Feeling gratitude and not expressing it

is like wrapping a present and not giving it."

-William Arthur Ward

If this is a new habit for you, here's a suggestion for cultivating gratitude in your life. Carry an index card with you wherever you go. Throughout the day, ask yourself, "Who or what am I grateful for right now?" Write it down. Set a goal to write down five things each day. If that seems impossible, begin with writing down one thing today. Tomorrow write down two things, the next day three things, until you get to five things. At the end of each day, send a note of appreciation to express gratitude to the people you appreciate. This will do two things: (1) It will help you stay in an attitude of gratitude. Whatever you focus on you will manifest more of it in your life. (2) It will have a huge positive impact on your relationships, which will impact your life in ways you cannot even imagine.

Will you commit to writing down what you are grateful for each day? How often do you miss the opportunity to acknowledge what is right in front of you?

When was the last time you told your son or daughter that you were proud of them, or your employee that they did a great job, or your spouse or significant other that you love them, or your friend that you appreciate their friendship, or your customer that you appreciate their business?

We as human beings crave appreciation. When we show it, people will respond to us in the most positive ways possible…personally and professionally.  Express your gratitiude at every opportunity.  I have never heard someone complain about being appreciated too much or too often.

"Appreciation can make a day, even change a life.

Your willingness to put it into words is all that is necessary."

-Margaret Cousins

Most of us have good intentions to express appreciation, concern, and compassion…but we seldom follow through with those intentions. The difference between success and failure in your life will depend on your ability to follow through with your intentions.

Have you said everything you want to say to those you care about? If they died tomorrow, would you feel like you’d said what you wanted and needed to say?
I’ve been using a wonderful communication tool that enables me to express gratitude, sympathy, congratulations, encouragement, or whatever else I want to express whenever I am prompted to do so. I love using this tool because I don’t have to drive to the store or go anywhere in order to send a card in the mail. As my Thanksgiving gift to you, I’d like to give you an opportunity to send a real paper greeting card to someone you care about, and you can create it right now. I’ll even pay for the postage! Visit http://www.bethoughtfulnow.com/try.html to request a free gift account so you can send a card or two today.

Here's another wonderful resource to help you stay focused on gratitude.  Visit www.UnleashGratitude.com.  I became a Founding Member and each month I get some Ug Cards that I can give to others to express gratitude.  Curious what an Ug Card is?  Visit their site and find out!

I appreciate you takin the time to read this article and share your thoughts with me. I am collecting stories about how giving and receiving gratitude has impacted lives. If you have a story to share, please send it to me at Kathy@orgcoach.net. If I decide to use it in a book I plan to write, I will be in touch to get your permission to include your story in my book.