Inspirational Message Nov. 18, 2007

Gratitude is an Attitude

“The hardest arithmetic to master is that which enables us to count our blessings” Eric Hoffer

Each year we set aside a special day to give thanks and be with family and friends and well it should be so. What do we do the other 364 days? If you still do a little grumbling and complaining (who me?), let me submit that we work on cultivating a “gratitude attitude.” This is not done easily because we all have problems, pain, and loss in our lives and it is often easier to dwell on these and perhaps garner a little sympathy along the way (good luck).

In his letter to the Philippians, Paul suggests that instead of worry we should pray with thanksgiving. He then follows up with a list of 7 things that we are to meditate upon: whatever is true, noble, just, pure, lovely, of good report, and praise worthy. Now this is hardly the material that Hollywood or the evening news would have us to ponder, but it is powerful stuff! Let’s try a few situations on for size. Instead of complaining about the traffic jam, consider being appreciative for the extra time you had to make a few business related calls. Rather than lamenting about the person you drove 45 minutes to see, to do an hour presentation and they only purchased one ”spray bottle,” be thinking that the referral they gave you may be your next master coordinator. As an alternative to talking about the high price of gas, let’s talk about ways we can conserve energy… like buying a Get Clean Kit!

John Henry Jowett said “Gratitude is a vaccine, an antitoxin, and an antiseptic.” In fact it is proven that thankful people are healthier and wealthier. University of California Davis psychology professor Robert Emmons' research indicates that "Grateful people take better care of themselves and engage in more protective health behaviors like regular exercise, a healthy diet, (and) regular physical examinations." His research finds that grateful people tend to be more optimistic, a characteristic that boosts the immune system. In an experimental comparison conducted by Emmons and McCullough, those who kept gratitude journals on a weekly basis exercised more regularly, reported fewer physical symptoms, felt better about their lives as a whole, and were more optimistic about the upcoming week compared to those who recorded hassles or neutral life events. One reason for the increased wealth is borne out by the research that indicates that customers who are called and thanked showed a subsequent 70% increase in purchases!

So let’s work on our “gratitude attitude” this Thanksgiving week and all year round. Don’t keep your new attitude to yourself, tell someone else how much you appreciate them. As William Ward said “feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a gift and not giving it.”

The best giving is thanksgiving, (Chesterton)

Mike