Leadership Skills – Maintaining the Attitude of Gratitude

As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.
– John Fitzgerald Kennedy

For each new morning with its light,
For rest and shelter of the night,
For health and food, for love and friends,
For everything Thy goodness sends.
– Ralph Waldo Emerson

My attitude is eternal Gratitude!
– Hugh Ballou

When I get stuck and start feeling like things are not going my way, I can’t think clearly enough sometimes to get unstuck.

I have determined many times that my biggest limit to success is my attitude. Starting out by being grateful makes a huge difference! At the top of my grateful list today is my very loving and supportive wife, who reminded me of this spiritual dynamic. This is the season of Advent in the Christian year. This is the season of anticipation and expectation. It’s the beginning of the Christian year and the spiritual journey for the year. Limiting one’s self limits the experience and the awareness for the journey.

Robert Emmons—editor-in-chief of the Journal of Positive Psychology—examines what it means to think and feel gratefully in Thanks! and invites readers to learn how to put this powerful emotion into practice. Scientifically speaking, regular grateful thinking can increase happiness by as much as 25 percent, while keeping a gratitude journal for as little as three weeks results in better sleep and more energy. Here’s his book Thanks!: How Practicing Gratitude Can Make You Happier *

Here’s a video from Dr. Emmons on YouTube.

I’m grateful for the following:

1. My beautiful, loving, gracious wife
2. Good health
3. Sound mind
4. Pleasing personality
5. Many, many close friends
6. Many leadership skills
7. Extensive experience
8. Powerful alliances
9. Lots of content
10. Family relationships
11. Massive potential
12. Lots of success to share
13. And lots more…

What are you grateful for in this holiday season of Advent?

*An affiliate link for Amazon, proceeds benefit SynerVision Leadership Foundation