The Gratitude Theory At Work
Last week I found myself getting caught up in the annual frantic rush associated with the Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday before Thanksgiving. It’s a proven fact of life, as far as I’m concerned, that these are the three busiest days of the year. It seems as though every client, every competitor, every opportunity and every problem has a way of converging, almost magically, on this one point in time. To a certain extent, the pain associated with those three days is quasi self-inflicted because of a decision I made years ago to take the Friday after Thanksgiving, and the subsequent weekend, off from work. It may not seem like a big deal to some, but for me, spending those days at home with my family is priceless. We rest. We watch our favorite Christmas movies. We buy and decorate our Christmas tree. We eat leftovers. And we enjoy each other’s company. As a result, though, I end up cramming five to seven days worth of work into just three. This year, aside from the physical and mental exhaustion that follows having to work an ungodly number of hours, and the added stress that comes from needing to get things done in an unnatural amount of time, I almost succumbed to a far worse tragedy. So busy was I, and so caught up in the jet stream of struggle from the ongoing wake of the recession, that I almost forgot to be thankful on Thanksgiving. Thankfully, though, something saved me from myself.
According to research, practicing gratitude offers actual benefits that lead to happiness, health, long life, and prosperity. In an article titled “Gratitude Theory” by the AFC News Source, and taken from various research reports, Dr. Michael McCollough, of Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, and Dr. Robert Emmons, of the University of California at Davis, studied the significant role that gratitude plays in a person’s sense of well-being. “The results of the study indicated that daily gratitude exercises resulted in higher reported levels of alertness, enthusiasm, determination, optimism and energy. Additionally, the gratitude group experienced less depression and stress, was more likely to help others, exercised more regularly and made more progress toward personal goals. According to the findings, people who feel grateful are also more likely to feel loved. McCollough and Emmons also noted that gratitude encouraged a positive cycle of reciprocal kindness among people since one act of gratitude encourages another.”
Some might wonder what place all this talk of gratitude has in a business column. The answer is simple. Every single benefit researched in the Emmons/McCollough study can be linked to factors that affect our success both personally and professionally. Notice the characteristics such as alertness, enthusiasm, determination, optimism and energy. There isn’t a single person who, in this economy, isn’t looking for a little more of each of these critical success factors to help them get by, if not succeed.
- Alertness: The process of paying close and continuous attention. Alertness is critical during the global recession to avoid setbacks and mitigate risk, as well as help us recognize opportunities for growth.
- Enthusiasm: Great excitement for or interest in a subject or cause. Enthusiasm connects us to our goals and provides us with the motivation to accomplish them.
- Determination: Firmness of purpose. Denis Waitley said it best, “Determination gives you the resolve to keep going in spite of the roadblocks that lay before you.”
- Optimism: Having hopefulness and confidence about the future or successful outcome of something. When it comes to personal and professional success, the optimist has an advantage over the pessimist.
- Energy: A healthy capacity for vigorous activity, and enterprising or ambitious drive. “The higher your energy level, the more efficient your body. The more efficient your body, the better you feel and the more you will use your talent to produce outstanding results”. Tony Robbins
Truth be told, as important as these benefits of practicing gratitude are for our success, they’re not what saved my Thanksgiving from the madness that nearly overwhelmed me earlier in the week. The worries and pressures of work spilled over into Thursday and occupied my mind leaving no room for thankfulness – until I arrived at my father’s house for Thanksgiving dinner. When I walked into his kitchen and found him carving the turkey, as he’s done my entire life, I was reminded of how close we came to losing him this year to cancer. Over the course of the year I’ve written several business columns on the impact my father’s cancer has had on our business. From the importance of succession planning to the need for topgrading, proper planning can be the difference between a business’ ability to survive it’s founder. He is my business partner after all. But it wasn’t the president and CEO of Lemartec that I saw carving the turkey on Thursday night. It was my dad. Healthy, hopeful, and grateful for being alive. And for that, I am most thankful.