At times it seems like the “Gratitude Movement” has become the flavor of the month club. I have been advised recently to have a Gratitude Journal, to write 3 gratitudes every morning… or night… or both depending on who you listen to. I have even been told to have an “Attitude of Gratitude” and a “Gratitude Practice”. Sounds like a lot of work to me!
To be clear, I believe in all of that. I write my gratitudes on most days. I like to think I have an attitude that is grateful and do the other work to get the most of my “gratitude practice” but there is something missing in all that for me that doesn’t get talked about much.
And that is mindset. You can do it all, write and journal, morning noon, and night… but if you don’t have the right mindset it is just words on a page or a journal entry in a book.
We need to view the mindset of gratitude more through the why lens… and then the “hows” will tend to follow. Why does it matter to be grateful? Why does this even work in the first place? Why write them down?
Joe Polish (founder of Genius Network) has become a good friend of mine. A few years ago we did an interview. At the time I had talked a ton about employee culture and how important it was… with lots of both how and why… and we get to the end of the interview. Last question.
Joe: “John all of this sounds great but what if you just don’t like people…?” Now, I knew Joe, a consummate smart ass, was being a smart ass!! But I thought for a second and what came to me changed my life and how I see things…
Me: “Joe very funny… I know you are being a smart ass but actually a great question. You don’t have to like people at all. But if you are not GRATEFUL that amazing, random people show up every day to make your Entrepreneurial Dreams and Goals a reality… then maybe you don’t deserve to be an entrepreneur!”
Think about that… people show up every day to help you achieve your goals. That demands a mindset of GRATITUDE that all the journaling, writing, attitudes of gratitudes, and the rest can’t even begin to explain!
For me, it is an absolute must to get the mindset right and your how will naturally follow.
Cheers,
John
Founder of the align5 Companies, CEO of Scaling Up Coaches, and Serial Entrepreneur
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