It’s Thanksgiving week, which gives us free rein to step away from discussing marketing for a moment and simply be grateful. We are going to talk about gratitude this week and give you some business updates. It is that simple this week, and for that, we are grateful.
Gratitude, what is it? Oxford defines gratitude as “the quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness.” Well, that’s easy, isn’t it? It depends. Life is busy for the vast majority of us, these days. In the mix of all that business, it can be hard to remember to be grateful. Days can get away from us, and negative, toxic emotions may creep their way in.
How do you remember to be grateful in our fast-paced lives? There are a few things I do that may also work for you.
Keep a gratitude journal.
I write; I write a lot. I also journal daily. Part of my journaling is keeping a gratitude journal. Now for me, it isn’t a separate journal; but it can be for you if that works. As I journal daily, I have made my gratitude practice part of my journaling and add it at the end of each day’s entry. I think of things from the past days, weeks, or months that I am grateful for, and I write about them and how they have impacted me. If I had a particularly rough go, I look at the day from a different perspective. Perhaps I tripped and hurt a knee, and instead of letting it get me down, I am grateful for having feeling in my knee.
Remember the bad.
This practice can be powerful when thinking of what you can be grateful for. It is especially powerful for business owners as it takes time to build a business. Think back at how far you have come from where you used to be.
I was in an auto accident when I was 16. At the time, the doctors were not sure if I was going to be able to walk again. I was up waddling around in two leg casts before I knew it (I shouldn’t have been weight-bearing, but I didn’t know that at the time!). Quickly, I walked with ease and then ran again. Thinking back at how hard those first few steps were to now, walking with ease, I am grateful.
As a business owner or professional, think back to when you were getting your start. In the beginning, you have no business, and you may struggle daily with keeping at it. After a time, you get business, be it clients or selling products, all because you stuck with it.
At MackWP, we started with one client. As you continue on with little business, it can be hard mentally. We were thankful for that one client though, and we let them know. A year later, we are up to nine clients and still growing. The goal is twenty before we bring on our next employee, and we are grateful for the journey so far and where it is leading.
Use visual reminders.
We have these all over! From sticky notes reminding us to be grateful to gratitude posters hanging on the wall. These can be just what you need on one of those rough days in which it is a challenge to remember to be grateful.
Some pointers are to have something that makes you grateful as your computer background. We have used things like quotes (“A smooth sea never made a skilled sailor”) to a picture of a wolf (we will get into this more a little further down). We also have a physical planner that doubles as a tracker for goals, habits, and more (Clever Fox, I can’t recommend it enough). Every week, I write something in it related to gratitude as a visual reminder; this week is simply saying “Thankful” in big letters.
Watch what you say.
As I mentioned before, I write a lot. Words play a big part in my everyday operations. Words have power. Let that sink in! Self-talk can play a large role in your gratitude practice, your emotions, and how you feel. Rather than looking at something as to be difficult, say it is challenging. Replace negative words with positive words and see what happens. If you are up for it, please share your experience with us.
The more you feed your good wolf, the easier it becomes.
Remember above where I mentioned that we would get more into the wolf below? Here we are, the wolf.
Kids are full of energy, curious, adventurous, amazing, and always on the go. There are so many more adjectives we can use, but you get the picture. If you didn’t know, we have three kids, ages 6, 4, and 2. They are incredible, and honestly, if you would let us, we could talk about them all day long. Kids get into things which is a great thing. But let’s face it, when they’re bored or tired, they can get into trouble and start being mean. Something we do with our kids is to ask them which wolf they are feeding.
I will do my best to recite this Native American legend, so please go gentle on me.
The legend goes that a grandfather is talking with his grandson. The grandfather tells the boy that we all have two wolves inside of us. A good wolf, and a bad wolf. The two wolves are in constant battle with one another. The grandson asks, “Which one wins?” The grandfather replies “The one you feed.”
Brillant! Think of it like this: the more good you do, the easier it is to do good. The more bad you do, the easier it becomes to do bad. The more grateful you are, the easier it is to be grateful.
What are you grateful for today? This week? This month? This year?
We love thanksgiving week as it allows us to step away from our usual content and just be grateful. Grateful for taking that leap of faith into entrepreneurship. Grateful for the support from family and friends. Grateful for everything in our personal life. Grateful for you, our audience filled with family, friends, clients, readers, and more.
Thank you for coming to our ted talk!
Until next time, keep smiling.
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