I invited my college buddies over after I got married for homemade donuts. They were nearly inedible. I left something out of the batter.
It was a fiasco. Worst of all, I didn’t taste the donuts until they had choked down theirs.
Survey results:
81% said they would work harder for a grateful boss.
94% of women and 96% of men agree that a grateful boss is more likely to be successful.
60% say they either never express gratitude at work or do so perhaps once a year.
74% never or rarely express gratitude to their boss.
Gratitude in 3 dimensions:
#1. Gratitude-for.
Reflect on benefits and advantages you enjoy. Consider that you are the recipient of kindness. Remember that others are helping you. All meaningful achievements involve the help of others.
#2. Gratitude-to.
Gratitude doesn’t become gratefulness until it is expressed. Feeling grateful is good. Expressing gratitude is essential.
#3. Gratitude-in.
Practice gratitude in hardship.
Gratitude is noticing and acknowledging benefit or advantage.
What benefits or advantages might result from hardship?
4 ways to practice gratitude today:
#1. Go deep.
“Gratitude in depth is more important than ‘gratitude by the numbers’. Elaborating on a particular benefit in detail is more beneficial than listing a number of benefits more superficially.” Robert Emmons
Don’t fear that gratitude causes complacency. It’s just the opposite. (5 Myths about Gratitude)
#2. Describe behaviors.
It’s good to express how someone’s actions benefited you. It’s better to describe their actions back to them.
#3. Write a thank you note.
#4. Go on a gratitude walk-about.
If you can’t today, schedule a gratitude walk-about, or a couple brief gratitude video calls. Yes, put gratitude on your calendar.
#5. Separate gratitude from challenge.
Let gratitude stand on it’s own. You can challenge people to reach higher tomorrow.
Today’s challenge: Express gratitude to one person. Be brief, specific, and sincere.
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This post was previously published on Leadership Freak with a Creative Commons License.
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Photo credit: iStock