Our perspectives are fashioned by many influencers, our parents, our economic status, social cues, commercial stimulus and our own vision of who we want to become. We receive messages all day long of what success looks like, which creates demand for us to expand our material possessions, improve our social stature and advance our careers.
Our drive to improve our lives is healthy as it pushes us to learn. We set goals and strive to better our station in life as we slowly build our legacy. During this pursuit, however, it is easy for us to allow our gratitude to become dominated by our ambition.
Our economy is driven by creating demand for products. Great sums of money are invested by producers of material things to convince us of our want for them. In a way, our yearning for these things eventually become expectations and the process repeats itself so our longing for what we don’t have becomes perpetual. This hunger for what we lack discounts our appreciation for what we do have and creates an undercurrent of stress that can negatively affect our self-esteem.
People with gratitude will reframe the “what I don’t have” perspective to “appreciating what I do have,” and it’s a game-changer. According to Amy Morin, (Forbes Magazine 2014) some of the benefits of practicing gratitude are:
Improved social life: A simple expression of thanks can attract more people into your personal sphere. People are drawn to others who are grateful.
Improved physical health: People who practice gratefulness have more energy and enjoy fewer aches and pains.
Improved psychological health: Practicing gratitude reduces envy, resentment and regret.
Improved sense of empathy: People who practice gratitude are more resilient to aggression and show more sensitivity toward others.
Improved self-esteem: When we practice gratitude, we make fewer social comparisons and show appreciation for other people’s accomplishments.
Improved mental strength: Practicing gratitude helps us overcome trauma faster, and fosters resilience.
At Possibilities, we’ll explore the way we choose to observe the world and our role in it. We’ll examine our modus-operandi and review perspectives that can change the way we handle life’s challenges, including our use of gratitude. When your company needs to build its leadership base, or create high performance teams, we’re on hand to help strengthen your company’s culture.
"No one who achieves success does so without acknowledging the help of others. The wise and confident acknowledge this help with gratitude." -Alfred North Whitehead