Social Media Challenges & Gratitude Benefits
If you are on social media this month, you’ll likely see many of your friends posting daily sentiments of gratitude. A recently popularized practice, gratitude challenges are designed to create a habit associated with expressing gratitude. As casual social media users, we must admit it’s nice to see individuals speaking with gratitude for the people, places, and experiences in their lives. As leadership coaches, we also appreciate that an attitude of gratitude offers many benefits, including making us more optimistic, improving our overall health, deepening our relationships, and increasing our productivity.
Why is Gratitude so Difficult?
But with all the positive emotions and promising results associated with gratitude, we wonder why gratitude challenges are even necessary. What is it about gratitude that is so hard to cultivate?
Researchers such as Michael Steger, Sara Algoe, and Jingting Liu have found that a partial explanation for some of us may be found in our “hard wiring.” In several studies conducted in the last two decades, research teams have identified genetic differences that may explain why some people find it easier to feel and express gratitude than others. Some even find anatomical differences in the brains of those who are more grateful people. Jo-Anna Tsang and her colleagues also have found that certain personality factors may act as barriers to gratitude, which means our “soft wiring” may also impact whether we feel and act on gratitude.
Gratitude is about Sight
Reading that may make some of us think the deck is stacked against us, but we want to offer a simple observation that may reveal the ace up our sleeves. In our opinion, the origin of gratitude is observation. In other words, we must see something worthy of appreciation before we will feel it or express it.
We think the seeing part is the true gratitude challenge for most leaders, and here’s why. We are blessed to work with emotionally intelligent, caring leaders who want the best for their teams, organizations, and communities. Most of our leaders are also working in industries that feature big problems and even bigger expectations. Those pressures can lead them to be blind to the opportunities to express gratitude to their teams.
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A Different Gratitude Challenge: As we approach the Thanksgiving holiday, be on the lookout for moments that should spark your gratitude. It may be a team member holding a door for you, a partner/spouse re-filling your water cup, or a friendly driver letting you in the merged traffic lane. Try to find at least 10 things you can be grateful for each day and write them down. You’re also welcome to express your gratitude when you feel it; just don’t lose touch with the real purpose of this exercise, which is to see what’s worthy of your gratitude because we think many leaders will naturally express it IF we see it first!
