The Grateful Leader
This past week found many people gathering and giving thanks. Maybe over a traditional Thanksgiving meal with friends and family, maybe reflecting back on growth the past year. I was fortunate enough to gather with my family spending Thanksgiving my youngest nephew for the first time.
Last year we were all living in quarantine and although I learned to appreciate my husband and home more than ever, I found myself paying extra attention to the opportunity that allowed me to get together with family in person again.
These moments of gratitude are powerful. They impact our mindset and how we remember experiences. I have developed a daily gratitude practice, so this holiday was one more day to be present and focus on what I already have in my life.
This week the Learning to Lead live clubhouse discussions were on break, but I thought it would be a good time to share some tips and resources for starting a gratitude practice, including why it matters to everyone, especially leaders.
Why a Gratitude Practice Matters:
Mindset Matters: by focusing on what we already have we can shift our mindsets and remember everything is temporary, even bad days
Open yourself to receive: by being grateful you will find you are more open and able to receive in your life. Gratitude is a key to welcoming abundance in many forms.
Deepen bonds: by expressing gratitude openly with others you can deepen connections, build trust, and become a more effective leader
Become present in your life: I am a big believer in mindfulness as a means to focus on where we are in the present, and learning to control our own reactions versus uncontrollable situations.
Turn a negative situation into a lesson: a crazy but effective lesson I learned - when you are dealing with a negative situation ask yourself what can you be grateful for about that specific situation. It helps you look at the situation from a different angle and choose how you want to respond, and what you can learn.
How to start a Gratitude Practice:
Make a list of 3 things you are grateful for at the end of the day, every day. This is what I do and I love being able to go back and read my short daily list.
Write what you are grateful for in extreme detail (do this anytime during the day that works for you)
Meditate: start a meditation practice to quiet your mind and learn to focus
Journal: I’m a huge fan of journaling and have taken to the morning pages approach from The Artist’s Way book (link below). One big tip: make sure you go back and read your journal every once in a while. Pay attention to what you complain about, where you feel stuck, and when you shifted out of that mindset (or didn’t).
Express gratitude once a day to someone (anyone) and pay attention to how they respond (what they say, their body language, etc.); this can be verbally or a simple note.
"The world has enough beautiful mountains and meadows, spectacular skies and serene lakes. It has enough lush forests, flowered fields, and sandy beaches. It has plenty of stars and the promise of a new sunrise and sunset every day. What the world needs more of is people to appreciate and enjoy it." Michael Josephson
As you return to a new week and look ahead to the end of this year, ask yourself how you can be grateful beyond one day a year. What might you learn from a daily gratitude practice? How might you grow? How might your life change with one small shift? And if you ask why start now, I’d ask, if not now, when?
Quote of the Week
Gratitude turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos into order, confusion into clarity...it makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow. -Melody Beattie
Resources
The Artists’ Way by Julia Cameron - a fantastic resource for everyone, especially those who do not consider themselves artists
How to Practice Gratitude - more great tips to start your practice
How Gratitude changes your brain - New research is starting to explore how gratitude works to improve our mental health
Precise V5 Extra Fine Pens - when you start writing a short list or journaling, get great tools. I love these pens, and you can get them in many colors.
Design Works Inc - These are the best journals and notebooks. The paper is high quality, and they offer fun styles and different sizes. I use these daily for my journaling practice.
Events
FastCompany Mobile Evolution 2022: How Foldable Tech, 5G, and More Are Transforming the Way We Work on December 8, 2021 - join this virtual event to learn how mobile technology has evolved, how new form factors are changing the ways workers use technology and practical ways that teams can use the latest technology, to boost productivity from wherever they’re working.
How to Build Better Leaders and Managers–Today on December 14, 2021 - join an online event with the author of the One Minute Manager and over 60 other best-selling business books to discover the keys to help you unlock the potential in your organization.
Networking
Are you hiring? Send your job to be included in this newsletter and connect with leaders in our network
Are you looking for a new job or opportunity? Keep an eye on the network section of this newsletter going forward.
Next time on Learning to Lead: Overcoming Imposter Syndrome
Join us LIVE in the official Learning to Lead Clubhouse Saturday, December 4, 2021 from 9:30-10:30 am PT.
Is there a topic you’d like us to cover? Do you have any questions for the Learning to Lead team? Comment or DM me.
If you are enjoying this content:
Consider joining us live Saturdays from 9:30-10:30 am PT on Clubhouse: https://lnkd.in/gh-BR9Uw
Share it with a friend!
Show your appreciation by buying me a coffee