Even if this week were nothing more than a chance to eat massive amounts of delicious food and watch TV with your family, it would still be fun. But there's also the idea of thankfulness, which is even more fun.
What? Gratitude doesn't sound fun to you? Well, you're not alone. Lots of people seem to believe that feeling thankful is foolish or naive - especially in uncertain or difficult times. But research shows that folks who focus on feeling grateful benefit in a variety of ways.
One expert on the scientific benefits of gratitude, Dr. Robert A Emmons, notes that feeling grateful can improve your health, your mental function, and your relationships with other people. His book, Thanks! How the New Science of Gratitude Can Make You Happier, "examines what it means to think and feel gratefully, and invites readers to learn how to put this powerful emotion into practice."
Since this blog is about 'how work works,' let's focus on the work aspects of gratitude for a moment. My observation has been that leaders who are grateful tend to behave in ways that inspire "followership." Grateful leaders tend to be passionate - their sense of possibility and hope translates into the ability to commit deeply. And they tend to be generous - their appreciation for what's working tends to manifest in generosity with praise, credit, resources, and faith. Passion and generosity are two of the most attractive qualities in a leader: we feel supported and included in the grateful leader's hopeful view of the world. And colleagues who are grateful - who focus more on what's working and on the contributions others are making as opposed to complaining, dismissing and blaming - are simply more pleasant to be around. But they're also more likely to build strong ties of mutual support with others, and to be able to call upon those ties to get things done.
So: be grateful. It's better for your body, your mind, your relationships....and your career.
Happy Thanksgiving!
