“A moment of gratitude makes a difference in your attitude” is a line by Bruce Wilkinson that I thought was apt to begin this piece. Gratitude is being thankful and appreciative, something we all love to be on the receiving end of. When we do something for someone, we always feel that it is our right to be thanked and that it is but natural that we are appreciated for going the extra mile. Why not? It’s a perfect reaction and a perfect expectation to have. A perfect expectation if we give what we also want to receive that is.
Gratitude is one of the core values we used to be brought up with not too long ago. As life has progressed and the world has developed we have now found ourselves in a self-centred, ungrateful and thankless loop. Whether we are at home, at school/college, at work or generally in society, thanks and appreciation have taken a back seat. How often do we as adults feel the need to thank those we are closest to? As a collective, taking things and people for granted has become way too common place. In my opinion it started when we got more informal. There were times when we were all much more formal in our dealings. ‘Please’, ‘thank you’, ‘may I’ etc. were part of the general vocabulary on the not so distant past. Today, it’s all ‘cool’ and ‘chilling’ and other such frozen and almost frozen adjectives that we tend to forget to emote actual gratitude.
At home, we take those who are around for granted. Let’s ask ourselves a few questions here to understand the point better. When was the last time I thanked the one who puts food on my table? When was the last time I thanked the one who paid my phone, electricity or gas bill? When last did I thank the one who switched on the light while I was reading or done a bit of dusting around the house? Well, the answer to those would probably drive home a few facts. When individuals are thanked, even for the tiniest bit of effort, it increases the likelihood that that effort be repeated, sometimes even increased. Home is a great place to start, for this is the one place where there will always be someone who is doing an extra something for us.
As we take a walk outside the home, there are tonnes of examples we can come across. The shopkeeper who sells us a few groceries, the waiter who waits on us at a restaurant, the cleaner who cleans the area around our homes, all are deserving of a nod of gratitude. Instead, we take what we need and go about our work. Sometimes, being downright mean in the bargain. Another very astounding fact is, how upset we get when our kids don’t seem to appreciate all we do for them. How mean right? We get what we give is the apt way of looking at things.
When we think of the work place too, there are moments of frustration that override, when we work ourselves to the bone and when we are done, we are greeted with a whole new list of things to do. Sometimes, we work hard, and someone else swoops in to take the pat on the back, or we do the best we can and we are at the threshold of something that is ‘almost’ perfection, but that tiny point zero five percent has proved much more worthy of the attention than is all the effort that has gone in. When we are faced with such situations, the level of motivation we experience, considerably drops and we are left in a limbo of ‘what just happened?’ or ‘was it really worth the effort?’
Being appreciative is a brilliant way to actually get your work done. Studies on gratitude have shown that it can actually decrease anxiety and help an individual sleep better. Imagine a workplace where everyone is well rested and of a motivational level that is the most highly conducive to increased performance! Like all positive emotions, gratitude is one such value that is repaid in kind. What goes around does eventually come all the way back around and what best to have come back to you that a positive, happy emotion?
We are in an age where human contact is being replaced by screens all around the world, but inculcating an attitude of gratitude will keep the element of humanity alive and kicking. With all the progress we are encountering, holding our values steady is the most developed we can be. Let’s not give in to the lack but contribute to the right.
