How less consumption and more gratitude can make you a better entrepreneur
Thanksgiving brings a whole lot of festive familiarity: lots of turkey and all the trimmings, family engagements to rush around dutifully to, and eye-popping sales that seem to bring out the best in deals and worst in humanity.
- Author
Catie McHugh
It can really be exhausting, and many vow “never again!” to participating in a chaos-driven holiday the following year.
This year, we’re saying a firm ‘no' to a holiday of hyper-consumption, instead focusing on the true message of Thanksgiving: gratitude. And what's more, practicing gratitude can really help you thrive in your business life.
It's a habit of extremely successful people.
Oprah Winfrey, Sir Richard Branson… now there’s a couple of people who really know what they’re doing when it comes to business, to the tune of respective net worths in the billions of dollars.
Apart from having enough money to buy their own planet, they have another thing in common - they both consciously practice gratitude. By being thankful, they are more focused on the present, maximizing opportunity and maintaining an optimistic outlook while dwelling less on things that may hold them back, or negative experiences.
It increases productivity.
As anyone who has worked in one can attest, workplaces with a general sentiment of negativity are pretty darn difficult to exist in. And not feeling appreciated or recognized is one of the top reasons people quit their job.
A study published in the Harvard Business Review found that positive workplaces are more productive, and a culture of appreciation energized and motivated teams to do well.
Your team is a vital element of business success, so imparting just why you’re thankful for their contribution is a powerful, mutually beneficial activity.
It has a powerful effect on your brain.
A recent study from UC Berkeley concluded that a conscious practice of thankfulness and gratitude had a profound effect on the human brain.
Activities such as writing letters of gratitude (even if it wasn’t given to anyone) allowed people to distance themselves from toxic emotions like resentfulness and envy, and maintain focus on areas that would help them thrive.
Might be time to dust off the ol’ gratitude journal then, eh?
It helps you bounce back.
As an entrepreneur, setbacks are part of the gig. However, in order to move forward and continue working towards success, it’s so important not to let those events define you and keep you down.
Gratitude allows you to see silver lining, and seize the opportunity that can appear hidden on darker days. It really is the ‘one simple, weird trick’ that can help you reach new heights in business.
