How to Practice Gratitude in Life & Work

All Good Things Must Come to an End

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And that includes Season 1 of Easier! Thanks so much for sticking around for an entire season of episodes ?

You might be wondering what’s coming up next…

What’s coming up next?

For November and December of 2018, the show will take a brief hiatus. But! During that time, I’m still going to put out a mini-episode each week.

Each week during the hiatus, I’m going to release either a Make Life Easier or a Make Work Easier mini-episode.

Then, Season 2 picks picks back up on January 2!

New Year, New Business

Season 2 will kick off in January 2019 with a series I’m calling New Year, New Business. It’s going to be about how to get your own side-hustle started!

I have a number of guests lined up to cover topics from getting started, to branding, to web design. And I’ll be covering how to build a website.

I’m really excited to launch into Season 2, and I hope you are too!

Gratitude & Brené Brown

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Here are the key points from my gratitude discussion, featuring Dr. Brené Brown:

• I take my cue about gratitude from Dr. Brené Brown — she’s a notable shame researcher
• She asserts that the most terrifying, difficult emotion that we experience as humans is joy

The most terrifying, difficult emotion that we experience as humans is joy.

• She also believes that when we lose our tolerance for vulnerability, joy becomes foreboding
  • In other words, “We dress rehearse tragedy so that we can beat vulnerability to the punch”
• We can beat this back through the active practice of gratitude.
• It’s not an attitude of gratitude — it’s a practice
• Take comfort in the ordinary moments; appreciate the little things

Here’s the video that I referenced:

Practicing Gratitude

Make Life Easier

Brené Brown specifically mentions that it’s not about an attitude of gratitude. She says it’s all about practicing gratitude.

In the clip above, she brings up a situation where she was on an airplane that had some mechanical trouble. In order to combat the fear she felt, she started to tell herself that she was grateful for her journey / destination.

What’s interesting to me though is she says that she didn’t even really feel what she was telling herself in that moment. She didn’t feel grateful. What was more important was that she practiced gratitude in that moment.

Daily practice: Keep a one-line gratitude journal

A practice I’ve integrated into my life is keeping a one-line gratitude journal.

Each day, I write out a thing for which I’m grateful. I keep it short and sweet: one line each day.

I also write out my goals and a memory from the day before!

Here’s a photo of my journal! And, in case you’re wondering, I use a Moleskine Squared Soft-cover Notebook!

Things for which I’m grateful

I try to identify a mix of things, from the mundane to the immediate, that I’m grateful for each day.

Here are some examples from my journal:

• I am grateful for clean drinking water
• I am grateful for beautiful fall weather
• I am grateful for reliable transportation
• I am grateful for my hair stylist
• I am grateful for my work ethic
• I am grateful for my new Dyson vacuum
• I am grateful for Todoist

Gratitude at Work

Make Work Easier

I found an excellent Forbes article called How to Create a Culture of Gratitude in the Workplace.

Here are a few key takeaways from that article:

• Lead by example: If you want gratitude to exist in your workplace, be the one who starts the practice. I think that this applies whether you’re in a leadership position or not!
• Be specific: General statements (e.g., “Thank you for a great year”) are much less effective than specific thanks (e.g., “Thank you so much for everything you did on X project.”)
• Do it daily: Or at least on a regular basis.
• Recognize the big & small: Big things are certainly worthy of gratitude. But, it’s important to recognize the little things too! Look for reasons to be thankful throughout your day.

A few other ideas I had that I thought I’d share:

• Give genuine thanks: If you’re not genuine, the recipient can tell. Be sure you mean what you say.
• Keep a set of thank-you cards in your desk: Dollar stores carry sets of blank cards (8 to a pack at mine!) that are excellent for quick thank-you notes. i always have some on hand.
• Find excuses to give thanks: Even if it’s just for holding the door or grabbing something off the printer.
• If you express gratitude about someone at work in your journal, tell them when you get to work!

Acknowledgments

There are a number of folks I’d like to give thanks to as we conclude this season!

My boyfriend, Kevin

He puts up with all of my podcast news, excitement, and nonsense on a regular (daily) basis. And for that, I’m very grateful!

My friend, Colleen

Collen introduced me to podcasts in the first place. And, she’s been there as a sounding board, helpful critic, and excellent friend. Thank you!

My friend-mentors, Christa, LaTasha, & Amanda

I’m incredibly grateful to all of the help Christa (Christa Graham Weddings & Events), LaTasha (A Journey East, James & Park), & Amanda (Mixie) have given me over the course of this season!

From being on the show (thanks Christa) to agreeing to be in future episodes (thanks LaTasha & Amanda), to giving me advice and feedback, I am so grateful to have you on my side!

My digital mentors

These folks are my mentors and they don’t even know it! Either way though, the content they put out into the world is so amazingly helpful:

• Dr. Brené Brown: Her work is amazing, and you should 100% check her out. I’d suggest you start by reading Daring Greatly.
• Gretchen Rubin: Her podcast, Happier with Gretchen Rubin, and books are amazing. She has impacted my life in so many ways. You should definitely check out The Four Tendencies!
• Amy Porterfield: Her podcast, Online Marketing Made Easy, got me started down my side-hustle path. If you’re interested in business or online marketing, that’s the place to start.
• Pat Flynn: I’m not as familiar with his work as others, but his podcast tutorials were immensely helpful as I got started with Easier. Check out Smart Passive Income.
• Rachel Hollis: She falls into the don’t-know-as-well category too, but her appearance on Amy Porterfield’s podcast was where I got my goals/memories/gratitude journal idea! Check out her book, Girl, Wash Your Face
• Marie Forleo: One of her videos is the reason I’m still in the content creation game now. She taught me that someone, somewhere is looking for exactly what I have to offer. Same goes for you, too.

Someone, somewhere is looking for exactly what you have to offer.

Organizations

• Starbucks: Starbucks is my place to get work done. In fact, I’m sitting at Starbucks right now, writing these show notes!
• TuesdaysTogether / Rising Tide Society: This is an amazing organization for entrepreneurs / creatives. I have gained so much from this group. Look for a meetup near you!

And, most importantly,

I’m grateful for you.

The folks who listen to this podcast are why I keep up with this show. I love to share knowledge and ideas, and knowing that you’re there listening to them brings much so much joy.

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

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