November 4, 2020
It’s a crazy time to be living on this planet. Who knew the stuff of science fiction would become real in 2020, and a pandemic would be changing the world as we knew it?
Now it’s November. Traditionally a time for gratitude. But as these challenging times continue, it’s tough to be upbeat about anything on any given day.
So why be grateful? Here is some food for thought from Shawn Achor, world-renowned positive psychologist and author of The Happiness Advantage: The Seven Principles of Positive Psychology That Fuel Success and Performance at Work:
“When our brains constantly scan for and focus on the positive, we profit from three of the most important tools available to us: happiness, gratitude, and optimism. The role happiness plays should be obvious – the more you pick up on the positive around you, the better you’ll 
feel – and we’ve already seen the advantages to performance that brings. The second mechanism at work here is gratitude, because the more opportunities for positivity we see, the more grateful we become. Psychologist Robert Emmons, who has spent nearly his entire career studying gratitude, has found that few things in life are as integral to our well-being. Countless other studies have shown that consistently grateful people are more energetic, emotionally intelligent, forgiving, and less likely to be depressed, anxious, or lonely. And it’s not that people are only grateful because they are happier, either; gratitude has proven to be a significant cause of positive outcomes. When researchers pick random volunteers and train them to be more grateful over a period of a few weeks, they become happier and more optimistic, feel more socially connected, enjoy better quality sleep, and even experience fewer headaches than control groups.”
SO – despite all the craziness and uncertainty in the world, it’s important to focus on what we CAN be grateful for right now, in this moment. Here are a few of the things I am thankful for today:
- My family is healthy
- The beautiful sunrise over the trees in my backyard this morning
- Wonderful clients
- Good friends
- My silly cat, Jojo
- A warm home
- The great team of people I work with
- Loosing the first 5 pounds of my COVID weight!
- My Rotary Club and the good work we do
I could go on and on – and that’s a good thing! Because the more we focus on the positives, the more grateful we become. And as long as we stay in gratitude, we can weather this storm.
I’ll end with some advice from Jon Gordon, author of The Energy Bus:
“Throughout the day, anytime you find yourself feeling stressed or wanting to complain, stop for 10 seconds and breathe. Count your breaths and your blessings.”
Words to live by right now…REMEMBER TO COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS.
