Gratitude is an essential part of success.
As you move towards achieving your personal and professional mission, you will have people who come alongside to help you. Expressing gratitude to those people can show your appreciation as you move even further towards your goals.
Gratitude helps you shift your focus from the negative things in your life
By putting your energy into gratitude, you are retraining your brain to look for reasons to be thankful. As you develop this habit, you’ll find that you’re overwhelmed with the reasons you have to give thanks.
People who express gratitude live healthier, more productive lives
When you express gratitude to others, it can cause a spike in the hormones responsible for good feelings. This can create a positive cycle of looking for things to be grateful for, and then expressing that gratitude, which makes you feel good - so you look for more things to be grateful for and the cycle continues.
Gratitude takes the focus off yourself
It is easy to become self-centered as you work towards a personal mission. When you take the time to show gratitude, you remove the attention from yourself and what you’ve accomplished and turn it onto others. This not only helps you prioritize others, it can also help keep you grounded with the idea that success is not a one-person journey.
Develop a habit of giving thanks
Start every day with a few moments of reflection.
Remember the people who helped you and make brief notes of the ways that they were instrumental in helping you. The purpose of writing these thoughts down is so you can come back to them later.
Send a written thank you note
The written word is powerful. A written note of thanks shows the importance of the person’s contribution to your life. Be specific on the ways they impacted your journey.
Return the favor
Learn more about their journey and think of a way that you could help them achieve their goals - big or small. By doing something nice for them, you are giving them a tangible expression of how grateful you are.
Share your success
None of us do it all on our own. We have help along the way.
Ensure you give credit where credit is due. Share with others how instrumental certain people were in your success. Tell your family and friends, post notes on social media and take opportunities to let others know the ways you’ve been helped.
Want to learn more about the power of gratitude? Check out Forbes author, Michele Bailey's new book The Currency of Gratitude.
