Gratitude
Posted on Tue, Dec 11, 2012
This week Jews celebrate Chanukah. In a couple of weeks Christians will celebrate Christmas. Others will celebrate still more winter solstice holidays. My experience says that, for most, the celebrations will be center stage and all too short. What will take up most of our time will be the stress and depressive thoughts. I tend not to experience the amount of stress I see around me at this time of year.
The reason that I stress and the thoughts/feelings of isolation, and other self-critical judgments is pretty simple. I live in gratitude. Gratitude like all of our emotions is a choice and can be learned (there are a number of sources which you can mine in order to learn how to be grateful and are too many to list here... so write to Excell if you want resources on this). What I have learned most recently is that feeling grateful can also be a tool used in leading and managing employees. A number of my clients use this tool.
When I choose to be grateful I am more likely to feel appreciative of the efforts and results of those with whom I work, live and interact. Communicating those feelings is a powerful employee motivator and retention tool. It also works with strangers.
Try it some time. Feel grateful for something that someone has just done (whether or not you like the result). You will likely find that your perspective about the person shifts and that you find it easier to comment positively on that persons actions. A quick example: the next driver who cuts you off... feel grateful because they missed you... even more powerful... make up a positive story about why they are racing in traffic (they are getting to an emergency room to give blood).
My experience is that you will feel better about yourself, about the other person and you will be inclined to act more positively and benevolently toward others.
Happy Chanukah