Gratitude fills your glass.
Finding time to feel and express gratitude expands your heart and boosts your energy whenever you do it. It’s a powerful alchemy.
Gratitude is about how you look at your world, how you move through your days, and how you experience your moments.
And it’s a choice and a fundamental value. If you want to make the fullest use of your time, it is also a simple-yet-powerful time and energy management tool.
In “Character Strengths and Virtues” by Christopher Peterson and Martin E. P. Seligman, gratitude is defined as “an enduring thankfulness that is sustained across situations and over time.” According to them, there are two types of gratitude, personal and transpersonal. Personal gratitude is about thankfulness towards an individual, whereas transpersonal gratitude is a constant and fundamental appreciation of the world.
Feeling gratitude is powerful and empowering. And extending that, it is also important to express appreciation to others specifically and frequently. So, how about taking stock?
- How many times a day do you actively thank someone?
- And how often do you feel the energy of awe and wonder?
Try this…
As an informative exercise, extend this ‘stock-taking’ over time. Use a journal or diary (or just a pad of paper) to jot down times you feel grateful and what you’re feeling grateful for. After 3 or 4 weeks, go over your documentation and identify patterns in your gratitude. Also document lapses. Are there days when you are so absorbed in the activities of daily living that you “forget” life’s gifts?
What does this tell you? What happens to your energy? Do you habitually see the glass as “half empty” or “half full”?
Or this…
Or, here’s another simple and wonderful exercise I’ve practiced for many years. It was reinforced in the Vanguard Authentic Happiness Coaching Course I participated in years ago.
Each night, right before sleep, list at least 3 gratitudes you are aware of for that day. These can be anything you notice and appreciate.
Recently, I asked a client if she was continuing her nightly gratitudes. She vigorously nodded. “It keeps me positive,” she responded. And it does. It helps you maintain enthusiasm, even in challenging times. Soon it becomes automatic to appreciate your moments.
Ready to put your gratitude into action?
Follow through on this tip and action step:
Tip:
Gratitude relaxes and energizes you.
Action Step:
Cultivate a glass-half-full perspective by writing a brief note of thanks to someone who’s brightened your day. Mail it without expectation of a response, and warm yourself with your own inner glow.
Exploration:
By telling someone, either verbally or in writing, how much you appreciate them and their choices, you create a path for a positive connection. You let the other person know that she has been seen and that her actions are significant to you. It is particularly helpful that you validate others in concrete, specific ways. For example, you might say, “I really appreciate your suggestions for revising my project. Your feedback helped improve the outcome, and you provided ideas in such a thoughtful way.” This acknowledges both the concrete tangible and intangible contributions that the other person made.
Genuine interactions such as these create a base of positive communication on which to build an open-handed relationship. Such validations demonstrate the sender’s lack of entitlement, which promotes harmony and goodwill. Learning to feel and then express your gratitude is, indeed, a gift. Notice how much easier it is to be in the moment when you are grateful.
Please feel invited to drop me a line – I’d love to hear about what you discover as you explore gratitude.
And this helps, too…
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Let’s explore time together …
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