This month’s newsletter is all about GRATITUDE. What is gratitude and how can practicing it not only benefit us but also our businesses?
A Simple Question to Start – What is GRATITUDE?
You’ll know by now that I love a dictionary definition. The word gratitude is derived from the Latin root gratia, meaning grace, graciousness, or gratefulness. All derivatives from this Latin root have to do with kindness, generousness, gifts, the beauty of giving and receiving, or getting something for nothing.
Gratitude was been defined as “the willingness to recognize the unearned increments of value in one’s experience” in Bertocci & Millard’s article entitled “Is Gratitude an Alternative to Materialism?”.
The Power of Gratitude for Personal and Professional Growth
If you are tuned into the self-development space or even mainstream magazines, there is much talk of practising gratitude. Much research has been carried out to explore the benefits of gratitude. They include improved mental well-being, increased resilience, and better relationships.
Research carried out in 2003 on gratitude and well-being in daily life concluded that gratitude reinforces positive emotions that “broaden mindset and build enduring personal resources” that we can then draw upon when life feels tough.
In 2013, further research by Hill, Allemand & Roberts, concluded that “grateful individuals experience better physical health, in part, because of their greater psychological health, propensity for healthy activities, and willingness to seek help for health concerns.”
I love data, but in this case, I don’t need the data to tell me that it’s that it IS better to practice gratitude, I can attest to it having practiced it daily for the past 3 years!
Translating Personal Gratitude into Business Prosperity
I strongly believe, and again, have experienced for myself and with clients, that how you are in one area of your life is how you are in all areas of your life, whether you are conscious of it or not! So taking this concept it becomes clear that as female entrepreneurs, when we practice gratitude in our personal lives, we will take the positivity and energy of that gratitude into our businesses.
Running a business is like driving a car along an unknown road in the dark without headlights. It’s impossible to predict when the road will be smooth, or when the moon will appear from behind a cloud! There are days when it feels easy and days when it feels like the worst decision you have made in your life. And I stress that both are fine. It’s important to lean into the difficult days. To be with the emotions and feelings that they stir. And then when you are ready to leverage your gratitude practice find the gift or opportunity of the business challenge and move on. If you can master this then you will build stronger, more loyal connections with clients.
Leveraging Gratitude to Lead from the Front
Have you considered that gratitude could also be a tool to set you apart as a leader? When we express our gratitude to our employees, business partners, and collaborators we create a positive working culture when morale is improved. Which in turn improves employee loyalty and boosts productivity.
As a great female entrepreneur, you may want to consider some of the following techniques:
- End meetings with each person stating what they have been grateful for in the meeting
- Recognise the efforts of individuals in front of the team; this could be as simple as a verbal mention or more extreme with an award!
- Randomly treat your team to something unexpected – a donut, a coffee or even a journal!
My experience of keeping a gratitude journal
It took me a long time to get into writing a gratitude journal. I tried quite a few times to build this habit. Here are some tips that I found worked for me:
- Buy yourself a journal that YOU like. One that visually or texturally appeals. You may want lined, dotted or blank pages or even a template to complete. You may want paper that just feels nice. Treat yourself. Get the journal that excites you when you pick it up. It will make all the difference
- Same as above for your pen!
- Put your journal somewhere that you can’t miss it. I started by putting mine on my pillow. Making it “in the way” helped. Once the habit was there I moved it to my bedside table
- Keep it short and sweet. No one else is going to read it. Don’t care about your handwriting if that stops you. Don’t care if it makes sense or not. Just sit for a moment, close your eyes, and breathe. Then write without thinking
- Be kind to yourself. It doesn’t have to be perfect. It doesn’t matter if you miss a day or two. This exercise isn’t being marked by anyone
- Take time to look back. Use your journal as a morale booster. When you are having a difficult day spend a few minutes flicking back through the pages and remind yourself what you are grateful for. Then sit and feel your mood shift
Mindfulness Moment
I have a special treat for you this month. I’ve recorded a short meditation specifically on gratitude. I’d love to hear how you get on.
In case you missed it
Self-compassion
Gratitude goes hand in hand with self-compassion – so if you missed last month’s article “The power of self-compassion: Boosting your mental health and wellbeing” be sure to take a read.
5-day What’s Next Challenge
As we reach halfway through the year and the summer holidays loom why not take some time each day to consider what is next for you? Click to take part in this free 5-day Challenge and you will receive emails each day to help you uncover your path forward.
Powerful Conversations with
Andraya Catlyn, Cvetomira Borisova and Marcela Cermakova