How To Start Growing

”Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others.” -Cicero, Ancient Roman Statesman and Philosopher

Here is the secret to living. How is it that you arrived at the place in life you are at today? It was not because of all your effort alone. Along the way, you had help by many people. Your parents, teachers, congressmen, forefathers, siblings, coworkers, bosses, professors, etc. helped make you the person you are today. They shaped your belief system and opened opportunities. You received headstarts in areas of your life that others may not have gotten. The very system you are able to maneuver in has been set up through toil, debate, hardship, risk and vision. Have you thanked the people who have made a difference in your life? Do you remember them?

When you have done things to help others, you undoubtedly have suffered some pain of ingratitude. People forget. They are moving in this life focused on their needs and the next thing. You do as well. It is the human condition we are all blind to. For those who choose to live beyond our condition, there is great reward.

Why is gratitude so important? Here are the observations I have made of people through hours of business coaching:

1. Gratitude Offers Peripheral Vision. Ungrateful people are selfish. They focus only on their needs; their thinking is about how they can get what they want. They miss all the opportunities around them, ironically, because they cannot see them. Being able to see the way the world works – success comes through the collective contribution of a myriad of people affecting you – helps you see the people you encounter as valuable rather than disposable.
   
   
2. Gratitude fuels happiness. What is the goal of achievement? For many people, is it not happiness? The tragedy is that we think happiness is a place we will inevitably arrive at; we even feel entitled to it. The reality is that the journey you are experiencing through life is the whole point. Can you have joy in that journey? Are you so eager to escape discomfort, pain and inconvenience that you miss the lessons life is enriching you with through these very mechanisms? Who you are is shaped by your experiences. That is happiness – loving yourself and others through the journey. Your life and circumstances can always be worse. That perspective is lost with ingratitude.
   
   
3. Gratitude Opens Doors. Have you ever helped someone and not received recognition or a thank you? Most likely, you choose not put yourself out there to do it again. When there is a lack of gratitude to someone who has helped you get a job, given you a working idea, provided a key connection for you, then saying, “Thank you,” and showing appreciation is expected. Ingratitude creates the perception that you are a taker, only looking out for yourself. Be a giver. If not in reciprocal action, then in genuine, heartfelt gestures of thanks to the people that help you. How can you be successful by constantly closing doors of your own doing?

Growth starts with gratitude. The funny thing is that if you are an ungrateful person, the likelihood that you will see the problem is small. Your own perception can lie to you. How about taking a gratitude test. Click here to see where you are. Start asking yourself a constant question, “Who can I thank?” Then get on doing it.