Make Thankfulness a Process

In the mid-1990s, I was an executive officer for several companies in crisis and owner of my own growing business. I was working over a hundred hours a week, drained, unhealthy and unhappy – and I felt there was no way out. When I realized that I was responsible for my world, that I created my world, that the only way I could change my world was to change myself – I was dumbfounded. I knew that my thoughts were the only things over which I had complete responsibility and accountability, so I began to wonder about what was going on inside my head. I decided to start managing my thoughts!

I woke up with the idea to start a thankfulness journal. Every night before I went to sleep, I took an inventory of my day and wrote down everything I was thankful for. Frankly, I was surprised at the length of the list because I thought everything was wrong in my world. I was also surprised to see the list expanded every day.

Then I noticed a shift in my thinking. I started seeing people and situations in a whole new light. My relationships with customers, suppliers, investors, creditors, the banks, professional advisors, the SEC, the employees, the board—everyone who worked with me –dramatically improved. I stopped noticing what I didn’t want and didn’t like and started focusing on what was right and what I wanted to create.

I smiled and laughed again. I felt as though a weight had been lifted. I started eating well and sleeping well. I accomplished much more, in quantity and quality, in less time. I got really creative and started receiving ideas on how to create even more that made me thankful! I couldn’t wait to start my day!

I also changed how I was working in organizations and to this day, I start every strategic planning session with: What are we thankful for? About our customers? Our suppliers? Our employees? Our investors and sources of money? Our products and services? Functional areas? Processes? The industry?

It is similar to focusing on our strengths, except focusing on our strengths is an intellectual process. Thankfulness invokes a power within. We are thankful for what matters. When we focus on what matters, we restore our sense of purpose and we become inspired. We start wondering how we can expand and create more of what we are thankful for. When we are inspired we achieve significant results.

I often work with leaders who feel down about everything—the industry, the economy, employees, suppliers, investors, and customers. I ask them to list everything they have to be thankful for with respect to these things and about themselves. As they prepare the list, a transformation occurs. Their faces light up, their postures straighten, their muscles relax, they begin to smile, and their creative juices begin to flow. They begin to wonder: How could we attract more customers like Customer A? What can we do to have more employees like Jake, Susan, and David? How can we help more suppliers perform like Supplier B? How can I BE a leader in these challenging times? They begin to formulate a vision and turn it into inspired action.

We often find ourselves struggling with thoughts of fear, worry, helplessness, self-doubt, blame, anger, overwhelm, despair, and hopelessness. When these kinds of thoughts are ruling our world, we are not in a powerful state and it may feel like a tough time to be thankful. Psychologists Robert Emmons of U.C. Davis and Michael McCullough of the University of Miami report that their ongoing Research Project on Gratitude and Thankfulness has found that people who keep weekly gratitude journals report fewer physical ailments, exercise more, have a better outlook on life and are more likely to reach important academic, interpersonal and health-based goals.

Thankfulness is one of the quickest and most powerful ways to create a change in our circumstances and move us in a direction that serves our purpose. How could you make thankfulness a process in your organization?