Helping people communicate effectively

THE GRATITUDE ATTITUDE: 
How you and your team benefit

I recently read some fascinating research related to gratitude.  Psychologists Michael McCullough and Robert Emmons developed and researched a long term project to study the nature of gratitude and its impact on human health and well-being. 

Their research involved comparisons of individuals who weekly kept a “gratitude journal”.  They were instructed to consider and weekly write down 5 things that made them feel grateful.  Their responses were compared to two other groups; 

One group weekly wrote down 5 things that annoyed them and another group wrote down 5 events that occurred that week.  The results of the long-term research provided fascinating findings. The following is just a snapshot of the benefits of “grateful thinking”.

Health and well-being: Those who kept gratitude journals exercised more regularly, reported fewer physical symptoms, and felt better about their lives  They were more optimistic about the upcoming week compared to those who recorded annoyances or neutral life events.

Goals: Participants who kept gratitude lists were more likely to make progress toward important personal goals.

Willingness to help others: The gratitude list-makers were more likely to help someone with a personal problem or offer emotional support to another.

Attitude and empathy: People with a strong disposition toward gratitude have the capacity to be empathic and to take the perspective of others.  They are rated as more generous and more helpful by people in their social networks

Materialism:  Grateful individuals place less importance on material goods; they are less likely to judge their own and others success in terms of possessions accumulated; they are less envious of others.

Children and gratitude: Children who practice grateful thinking have more positive attitudes toward school and their families

This research has been conducted within the last 10 years. It is likely as research continues we’ll learn more about how the “gratitude philosophy” affects each of us and all those around us.

Application in the office:  This is important information to share with team mates .. particularly at an economic time that has presented us with many challenges.  It is key to remember the things that we ARE grateful for.  This is not a matter of denying the problems and negative events that occur but making sure we don’t forget the good people, good things, and good events that ARE part of our lives.

 My Gratitude List of the Week

I am grateful ...

1. To be healthy

2. To have famly, friends I love

3. To do work that I love 

3. To live in NC, halfway between the mountains and the coast

4. To live in a free country

5. To see that my plants survived the winter, tulips are about to bloom and the lilies are starting their miraculous, upward growth!

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• Managing Maalox Moments
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For complete listing with detailed topic descriptions please check the appropriate links to the left..  Alternatively you may call me directly with any questions you have about program topics.  It will be a pleasure to talk with you and to learn about the needs of your group!

How does YOUR day start ... and how do you affect team mates?

How do you enter your office in the morning?  We’re often very aware of how we greet other people in social situations.  We’re highly aware of how we may affect the way others perceive us.  We may show real interest in that acquaintance, patient or friend … this is obvious in our body language, our voices and our words.  Somehow over time though, we may lose that awareness with team mates.  As we enter the office in the morning our thoughts may be on our own personal or professional issues.  This can color the first minutes of interaction with our team mates.  It’s interesting how we learn each others’ patterns … especially when we’ve worked with another person for a while.

“I can see Susie is going to be tough to deal with today. She looks grumpy again.  I’ll steer clear of her or ... I might just give her a little bit of what she gives us!”  In these moments, we’re making judgments about the other person and those judgments may influence transactions throughout the day.  That’s not fair to you OR to the other person.  You can’t force change in the other person.  You can’t change what comes at you.  You can only change what comes out of you!  In some situations you may allow the other person’s attitude to control your own behavior and your own attitude. 

It’s important to be aware of how we self-present to team mates when we enter the office in the morning.  If the doctor or office manager enters the office without a glance at team mates, and with a scowl on the face, you can bet that this affects the team.  Conversely, if the doctor or office manager enters the office with a positive attitude and an authentic interest in team mates, it can be a great kick-start of the day for all!! 

So before you enter the office, before you interact with team mates, ask yourself, “How do I want the day to start … for myself and for my team mates.  I can’t change them, but I can certainly change the way that I present myself.”  This doesn’t mean faking a happy face.  It does mean heightening self-awareness and taking responsibility for helping to establish a constructive, positive environment at the start of the day.  If every team member took a few moments to consider this, it would have a significant impact on the entire team.

Even if you can’t change the entire team, you can certainly change yourself!

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