Look. See. Be Grateful.

This is the seventh of 16 daily posts I'm writing on lessons I've learned over 16 years in business. You can scroll down to read the earlier posts in this series and you can read the introductory post here.

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Warning. I'm not going to tell you anything in this post that you haven't heard before. And yet reading it and looking for your lessons, is part of my point. Read on with an open mind - and look for your lessons.

This is a message we teach our kids at a very young age. Once they learn how to talk - and say the basic words like "Mommy" and "Daddy" (or in my case "tractor" - sounding like "trabbor" - which as the story goes was my first word), we want to teach them to say thank you. Not only do we want them to learn these two words, we want them to know when to use them.

I wrote about this in my book Vantagepoints and find it is one of the chapters people comment on regularly. We all "get" this. We learn to say thank you to be gracious and grateful. And, throughout our lives we are pretty good about it for basic things, like when someone lets us cut in the grocery line because we only have milk, or someone gives us a gift, and some of us are even good at it when people pay us a complement.

My lesson today though isn't just about saying thank you, which while important, should be an outcome, rather than the goal - I'm not, after all, in case you haven't noticed, Miss Manners.

One of the lessons I have learned over the past 16 years in business is that gratitude is vitally important to our self image, our attitude, and our success.

You might be thinking that in order to be grateful, we must have things happening in our lives to be grateful for, right?

This is true, but hardly a limited factor for any of us.

There is plenty for all of us to be grateful for each day. But the most important things won't be obvious.

How we are supposed to be grateful for things that aren't obvious or we don't even notice. (I'm glad you asked).

Look.

We must open our eyes and look expectantly to find good things in our world. Actually we can use all of our senses - the song on the radio, the smell of freshly baked pie, the feel of your favorite fall coat. We can "look" with all of our senses. And we should search expecting to find them. After all, if you want to find your keys, you don't look half-heartedly, you look expecting to find them. Look for things you can be grateful for. You will be surprised how many things you will find.

Find.

This may seem obvious after telling you to look expectantly. Recognize that even in the tough stuff and disappointments, we will find things to be grateful for when we look. Here are two quick examples.

On more than one occasion we have lost a chance at a large Client project - sometimes when we thought it was a done deal. When I remembered to look expectantly, I found lessons and opportunities in those "adversities" that could be grateful for both then and now. When my Dad died, it didn't seem there was much to be grateful for in that situation. Yet, even in the days immediately following that surprise, there were literally hundreds of things to be grateful for. Had I not been looking for them, they'd have gone by unnoticed.

Acknowledge.

When we can put a face on the gratitude, of course we should say thank you. But much of what you will find won't have an obvious person to thank. If you believe in a Higher power, thank them. If you believe in Karma, be thankful to it. Some people write a gratitude journal, writing down the things they are grateful for. Some people have personal, family or team rituals to provide a process for acknowledgement. Find what works for you, but find ways to acknowledge your gratefulness.

Use.

We are given gifts each day. They can aid us in our life's journey in a philosophical way, but they can have a real impact on us day to day as well. As you develop your gratitude radar and habit, you will find your attitude improving. After all, why wouldn't it, if you are seeing all of the wonderful things in your life? You will find yourself more confident, proactive and productive. And you will find greater success in your life, however you measure it.

Gratitude isn't just about "thank yous" and thank you cards. It is a way to create new learning, attitudes and results in your life. But in order for that to happen you must look, see, acknowledge and use.

So what are you grateful for right now?

Labels: gratitude

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