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3 things about gratitude

Thanksgiving is a weird celebration. 😝

The American movies show a giant turkey on a very well-set table surrounded by members of the same family. It’s like a small version of Christmas just a month before Christmas.

But of all the festivities on the calendar, this is the one with the most powerful justification.

3 things I know about gratitude:

✔ Thankfulness impacts as much the receiver as the giver.

✔ Gratitude is not attractive in the workplace. For Martin Seligman, the father of Positive Psychology, 2/3 of the interventions that have the biggest impact are related to gratitude. When employees feel valued and appreciated, they experience higher levels of well-being and their productivity increases. But when they are asked about this, they say they are not as appreciative as they could be because they feel they’d be taken advantage of.

✔ Robert Emmons, the world’s leading scientific expert on gratitude proves that it can reduce stress by 28%, chances of depression by 16%, increasing optimism by 94%, and improving sleeping habits like insomnia by 66%.

And here 5 practical exercises:

1️⃣ Gratitude journal: during one week every morning for 15 minutes list all the things you are grateful for. Also add the things that are going to happen that day. 📄

2️⃣ Thank you letter: write a thank you note to that special person that has helped you in the past, be as descriptive as possible. You don’t need to send it; this exercise is for you!! 😍

3️⃣ What if…? exercise: ask yourself what would have happened in your life if . . . someone had not existed / or you had not taken a certain action / or moved somewhere. . . Be thankful for those events that at the time didn’t seem right but that helped you be where you are today. 🌈

4️⃣ Get that thing that your partner/colleague/friend likes, and just give it to them. ❤

5️⃣ Ask yourself what you most value about the person you have in front of you (your partner/ a colleague/ a friend who disappointed you…) , versus “does this person make me happy?”. 😲

What am I missing?

Thank you for reading! 😉