Pro Roundup: Gratitude & Happiness
Gratefulness. Thanks. Appreciation. Recognition. Acknowledgement.
There are many ways to think about and express gratitude. And it often seems hard to escape the countless platitudes, social media posts, and blog articles on the subject. In fact, it seems trite to even be talking to you about it today.
However, chances are none of us does enough good thinking about how grateful we are (or should be) about the positive facets of our relationships, careers, health, and other fortunate circumstances. I know this firsthand because my therapist (for whom I am beyond grateful) has to remind me to do so at least once a month!
So, as we approach the Thanksgiving holiday here in the United States during a year stuffed with too many helpings of stress, anxiety, sadness, mourning, loneliness, and fraught, I will happily share with you some less ordinary takes on the how’s and why’s of gratitude.
7 Scientifically Proven Benefits of Gratitude
“We all have the ability and opportunity to cultivate gratitude. Rather than complain about the things you think you deserve, take a few moments to focus on all that you have.”
No matter what you see on the news, it’s very difficult to argue with science! The beauty of appreciation lies in its simplicity (and affordability!) in preventing and remedying so many common ailments.
1. Gratitude opens the door to more relationships.
2. Gratitude improves physical health.
3. Gratitude improves psychological health.
4. Gratitude enhances empathy and reduces aggression.
5. Grateful people sleep better.
6. Gratitude improves self-esteem.
7. Gratitude increases mental strength.
This article explores all the ways you can improve your wellbeing by simply practicing gratitude. When you take care of yourself, you can better show-up for others!
How Gratitude Changes You and Your Brain
“Much of our time and energy is spent pursuing things we currently don’t have. Gratitude reverses our priorities to help us appreciate the people and things we do.”
In the psychological study summarized in this Berkley article, researchers find that gratitude practices are beneficial not just for healthy, well-adjusted individuals, but also for those who struggle with mental health concerns, changing their minds and bodies for the better. Gratitude can also help us build much needed resilience during these challenging times!
As we take a little break this week from the grind, be sure to run a check on what you’ve been prioritizing lately.
Giving Thanks Can Make You Happier
“Gratitude helps people feel more positive emotions, relish good experiences, improve their health, deal with adversity, and build strong relationships.
In positive psychology research, gratitude is strongly and consistently associated with greater happiness. Gratitude helps people feel more positive emotions, relish good experiences, improve their health, deal with adversity, and build strong relationships.
In this article, the Harvard Medical School explores reasons and tactics for appreciation that you might find helpful in staying mentally strong and positive!
Want to Be Happy? Be Grateful
“The one thing all humans have in common is that each of us wants to be happy.”
Need more proof that gratitude makes you a happier person? Brother David Steindl-Rast, a monk and interfaith scholar, suggests happiness is born from gratitude and that grateful living adds value to any of our life experiences.
Want to Be Happier? Try Volunteering!
“People who had volunteered in the past year were more satisfied with their lives and rated their overall health as better.”
Even through all the grief and stress that COVID-19 has brought us, folks are still showing up in big numbers to volunteer their talents for your agencies.
Turns out, volunteering and gratitude have a lot in common! As this Washington Post article explains, people who volunteer experience a boost in their mental health.
Have you seen this in action? Is there a correlation between gratitude and volunteering? Let us know what you think in the comments below!
How a Lack of Gratitude Kills Relationships
“Not only are ungrateful partners missing out on genuine moments of positivity and connection, but their other halves may be less willing to contribute to the couple if their efforts aren’t recognized”
Ever hoped for a little more appreciation from your significant other? Maybe they feel the same way about you! As outlined here, feelings of unfairness certainly can cause resentment and even encourage partners to stop trying all together.
Keep the fire going with gratitude!
Why to Thank Your Partner for Doing the Chores
“Being appreciated for your work doesn’t just feel good; appreciation may have the power to transform those mundane duties from something you have to do into something you want to do.
And how do we show gratitude to our partner, you ask? Perhaps by not taking small things for granted, according to this article. Expressing appreciation really can transform your relationship!
How Gratitude Can Help Your Career
“We are already what we aspire to be.”
Ever think practicing gratitude could help you up your self-confidence, improve your skills, or even earn more money?
The Harvard Business Review makes a case for expressing gratitude to yourself about your unique strengths rather than fighting the nature of your own shortcomings.
Gratitude: Ego’s Antidote
“As gratitude frees us from living for our narrow selves, it invites us to begin living for others.”
As important as it seems to our mental and physical wellbeing, gratitude doesn’t necessarily come easy for many of us. Most of us have an infinite capacity for taking things for granted.
When we forget to be grateful, we tend to draw into ourselves and start focusing on what we lack or what we want rather than how we can help others or how others could help us. If you start to slack on gratitude, you may miss out on getting volunteers into the optimal jobs
As this Arbinger Institute article explains, gratitude can take us out of our egos and open our eyes to all that is offered to us by others.
A Thanksgiving Message from Seven Amazing Native Americans
“I am so grateful to live this beautiful life, to know such wonderful people, and to have the opportunity to drink clean water, breathe fresh air, and feel the strength of my ancestors in our ground.”
Here in North America, the Thanksgiving holidays in the U.S. and Canada are not exactly celebrated or appreciated by all of us. It is important for those of us living on native land to acknowledge the fact that this holiday perpetuates “a myth created to make white people feel comfortable.”
That said, this article features a collection of thoughts on Thanksgiving and gratefulness from several Native Americans who demonstrate true grace despite it all.
Why Gratitude Makes Leaders More Effective
“Appreciation will enable you to realize that without assistance from others, you wouldn’t be as successful.”
Gratitude is no doubt one of the most effective ways to become not only a better leader but also a better person, this article argues.
As this article from entrepreneur.com explains, that’s because appreciation encourages engagement, more positive interactions, and builds resistance. What’s more, gratitude helps you acknowledge your accomplishments. Thankfulness encourages you to focus on your successes.
Starting to notice a pattern here? The benefits of thankfulness just keep on coming!
Where Gratitude Gets You
“Gratitude is the moral memory of humankind.” – Georg Simmel
Many of us struggle with self-control, assuming willpower is the key to achieving our goals. But there’s a simple and often overlooked mental habit that can improve our health and well-being.
Guess what it is…
NPR’s Hidden Brain explores how the practice of gratitude makes you more successful, more disciplined, and even more virtuous against injustices in the world!
An Attitude of Gratitude: 3 Ways to Instantly Inspire Your Team
“If your team believes you value what they bring to the table every day, you’ll create an atmosphere where everyone wants to succeed.”
One of the biggest benefits to being someone in-tune with their gratitude is having the opportunity to inspire that attitude in your volunteer team. Here are 3 quick ways to do just that, outlined here by Dave Ramsey.
1. Just Do It
2. Pump Them Up
3. Put it On Paper
People, no matter who or how old they are, yearn for appreciation. It raises them up and shows them they are valued. The easiest way to give them a big thank-you is through recognition.
13 Most Popular Gratitude Exercises & Activities
“There are infinite ways to show our gratitude to others, to ourselves, and to a higher power or even ‘the universe’ itself.”
I like the exercises in this article because the writer suggests physical ways to help manifest gratitude, outside of just keeping a “gratitude journal.” And most of the activities are even family-friendly! So, you can grab a few ideas for things to keep the kids busy during the long weekend.
You don’t have to knock all of these out at once though. Bookmark this one so you can come back to it when you need it again.
4 Ways to Practice Gratitude as a Volunteer Manager
“What if we took direct responsibility for changing the mood and culture of our organizations by becoming more grateful? What if we led with gratitude? Would it make a difference in the effectiveness of our volunteer teams? Of our organizations as a whole?”
A collection of gratitude practices just for you, written by our very own Tobi Johnson!
I would be remiss not to include any of our great past articles on gratitude for volunteer managers on this list, because 1) we’re shameless promoters and 2) these are some great tips on practicing thankfulness, specific to your position as a leader of volunteers.
C.S. Lewis and the Art of the Thank You Note
“I think we delight to praise what we enjoy because the praise not merely expresses but completes the enjoyment. It is not out of compliment that lovers keep on telling one another how beautiful they are; the delight is incomplete till it is expressed.” – C.S. Lewis
I’m not sure that you’d be able to find anyone else who ruminated as much on appreciation, happiness, and adoration as C.S. Lewis. The author of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe believed we should be grateful for all the fortunes that come our way, both good and bad.
He also wrote extensively on the importance of expressing praise for that which we are thankful. Lewis saw that completing our expressions was elemental to our happiness, so much so he made an art of the “Thank You” letter!
When was the last time you took some time to write thank you notes to your volunteers?
Kid President’s 25 Reasons to Be Thankful!
“Sad isn’t bad! It helps you know what you care about.”
If you’re ever at a loss for where to find gratitude, you know you can always turn to the young children in your life. Nearly every experience is new to them and they can seem to have a wellspring of appreciation for the smallest, most ordinary occurrences.
This fact is perfectly captured in Kid President’s YouTube video, “25 Reasons to Be Thankful.” Enjoy!
Have a Happy Thanksgiving
Whether you live here in the US — and are celebrating the Thanksgiving holiday or not — my hope is that you take the opportunity this week to be thankful for everything you have, appreciate everything you do well, and are able share gratitude with the people around you.
And know that we appreciate you, our readers for the vital work you do in communities around the world.
Learn to Appreciate Boundaries
Gratitude starts with expectations. When volunteers know what you want from them, they are more engaged, and you get better results!
Enjoying deep volunteer engagement and commitment isn’t magic! But it does take a smart strategy.
The good news is that we’ve got you covered. VolunteerPro has a FREE mini-course that explains what it takes to be an “architect of experience” and realize success for your volunteer team. In this short lesson, we share how to harness the science of trust for better supervision and deepen connections with volunteers through purposeful strategy.
