Gratitude is the most powerful quality a person can embrace daily.
Over a decade of research by Dr. Robert Emmons and other leading scientific experts on gratitude has revealed that gratitude blocks negative emotions that can be detrimental to health and happiness, such as envy, resentment, regret, worry, self-criticism and uncertainty. You can’t embody these harmful emotions when you’re feeling grateful. Purge these attitudes from your life, and you will live, as one of my favorite thought leaders Matthew Kelly states, “a life uncommon.”
As Kelly describes, the realization that we can choose how to show up in the world and define our own experience, although intimidating, is ultimately liberating, “because we can now begin to choose what we will find when we look at our life in the tomorrows that lie unlived before us.”
While I agree it’s important to look ahead, gratitude is also about remaining grounded in the present moment and counting your blessings — even during difficult times. I try to always remember two things. First, I’ve got a lot, and a lot more than most. Second, never underestimate how powerful it can be to share and to give back to your community.
What I enjoy most about my life, both personally and professionally, is the people. Let’s face it — the whole human condition revolves around whether you can connect with others and form relationships. As Martin Luther King famously advised, “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?’” Nelson Mandela shared a similar idea from a slightly different perspective, stating, “It is what we make out of what we have given, not what we are given, that separates one person from another.”
So, I hope you’ll join me at the end of a busy first semester to carve out some time for yourself and get quiet — even if it’s only a couple of minutes — and think about how you can intentionally practice gratitude this holiday season, shining that light on yourself and on those around you.
What are you most grateful for? How do you find it most meaningful to give back? Email me at [email protected].
Wishing you and your friends and family a happy and healthy holiday season.
Sincerely,
Dr. Z