Gratitude
Can gratitude really help me succeed in life and in business? Does it make me look weak as a leader? When people do what is expected of them, do I really need to thank them? Shouldn’t they do it anyways?
You may have asked yourself some of these questions or similar ones. In this article, I want to explain why having gratitude and showing that gratitude will make you a much happier person and can help push you into new boundaries of success in your life and your work.
Now, what kind of gratitude am I talking about here? Well, we all have things to be grateful for, right? Our family, homes, cars, health, jobs, etc. If you actively practice an attitude of thanksgiving, you will definitely be a lot happier where you are and with what you have. You can start to notice all of the things that you really do have to be grateful for. This can be a powerful, and even life-changing, thing to do. I encourage you to do this if you don’t already. Maybe even keep a gratitude journal that you can visit daily or weekly to jot down all of the things that you continue to be thankful for.
This is a great life practice; however, I want to touch on a different and more specific aspect of gratitude than just a general appreciation for what you have.
What I am talking about here is being humbly grateful when somebody does something to help you out or just does something incredibly kind for you and showing them that you are grateful. This type of lifestyle can completely change how people view you and to what lengths people will go to help you when you are truly in need.
In the great words of one of the coolest companies to have ever been created “Thanks Matters.” – Motivosity
We have seen many examples of this kind of gratitude at our company. Somebody has an event come up in life completely unexpected and we’re able to help them through it and they respond with tears of thankfulness. Another dealing with personal, medical issues who we offer support to who experiences pure joy and elation when we tell them how we can help. Another who wins an awesome gift at a Christmas party whose thankfulness is beyond words.
Not only did these experiences make us feel warm inside for doing something nice for these people.. It made us want to give them the entire world. When someone gives you something, and you show them true and utter gratitude for what they have given you (because they sacrificed something else to be able to do this for you), then they instantly want to give you more. The respect that they have for you will increase, and they will truly want to help you more and more because they know that you actually appreciate what they are doing for you.
This is so powerful!
This isn’t some gimmick to make people want to give you more either. People are better at seeing through lies than we sometimes think. This thankfulness and appreciation needs to be genuine and honest. If it is, you have no idea the effect that it can have on somebody and the way that they view you and what they think about you. From then on, they know that if they go out of their way to help you or to do something incredibly kind for you, you will come back to them and show appreciation. Usually appreciation is all that somebody wants or needs to hear. People don’t generally need to be paid back for acts of kindness. They just want to hear you say thanks.
The other side of this is how you will feel and act going forward. If you take the time and energy to show gratitude and appreciation to someone for something that they did, then that act that they performed or that thing they gave you will take on a new meaning to you. You will cherish and value whatever it is that they did for you on a much deeper level than if you just took their kindness and shoved it in your pocket. You will be happier and have better friendships and relationships with the people around you.
Test this out by going out and doing a few nice things for people in the world. Take note of how you feel about that person after they react to your kindness. I guarantee you that if that person shows true gratitude for what you have done, you will feel a greater sense of love and have a higher level of respect for this person, and you will feel a pull to do more for them. If this is the case for you, then it will be the same way if you show gratitude towards others when they go out of their way for you.
Find some cool and creative ways to show gratitude to people especially as we approach this holiday season. What a great time to be able to show others how grateful you are for them and for all that they will do for and give to you this season.