A Note of Gratitude for You
“When you are grateful, fear disappears and abundance appears.”
—Anthony Robbins
As we begin our Thanksgiving celebrations tomorrow, let’s remember to count our blessings, not our curses if for only the day – or perhaps a few more. This year has been scary, frustrating and lonely for many. But, for this holiday I encourage you to push all of those feelings aside and only concentrate on what is right in your life.
Here are some important things I ask you to do for the sake of making YOU feel better. By doing these easy things, I guarantee you, a new energy will emerge in you and that is what you’ll be needing to harness for the rebound to come.
1. Say “thank you.” The most straightforward thing is sometimes the most overlooked. Thank your family. Thank your pets. Thank your friends, your Pastor or Rabi, your employees, your neighbors, the check-out clerk at the store. Every day, thank people and thank God.
2. Give a gift card. There is someone worse off than you in your life. Find someone and give them a gift card…even if it is for a $2.00 Starbucks coffee. Do it.
3. Make family art. Part of being a parent is cultivating a heart of thankfulness in your children. This is a great opportunity to talk about how your family is thankful. If you have a child, have them write or draw a thank you card to anyone…a grandparent, a teacher, a friend.
4. Buy a book for someone that had an impact on you this year. The exercise of thinking of that person, and then of buying that special book will take you on a very satisfying personal journey. Don’t forget to sign it!
5. Praise your team openly in an email (like this one) to your co-workers. Point out something good in each of your people. Acknowledging the ways that they contribute to the team will let them know that you notice and appreciate their work.
6. Praise your associates privately as well. A nice note, heartfelt email, or even a simple, genuine expression of gratitude for a person’s contributions to the work can make a huge difference in his or her life, and will make you feel great.
These are very small, but transformational, things that we can all afford to do. In the spirit of giving thanks, let us also thank ourselves for the resolve we’ve shown this year.
Blessings to you all during this time and enjoy the experience of giving.
Sara Eastwood-Richardson
