As a behavioural coach, one of my pet topics to talk about is GRATITUDE. One specific problem that gratitude addresses is employee engagement. As I speak to corporate leaders, they would tell me that they want to increase the engagement levels of their employees, and eventually increase their productivity.

In my years of experience in and out of Navy, to include the power of gratitude in discussions, I saw how participants’ perspective change from…

“What’s in it for me?”

“I deserve this.”

“I dislike my boss because…”

“I’m not happy in my company because…”

to

“Oh wow, I didn’t realize how blessed I am to be part of this company.”

“Yes, I do appreciate my boss for…

“I am happy to work with…”

“I wonder how I can show my gratitude to my company…”

Gratitude changes perspective and eventually leads to engagement then to productivity.

But gratitude is also very powerful in our personal lives. There have been so many studies that link gratitude to good health, happiness, emotional wellbeing, etc.

Today I have a short story for you… perhaps most have heard it before.

A blind boy sat on the steps of a building with a hat by his feet. He held up a sign which read,

“I am blind, please help.”

There were only a few coins in the hat – spare change from folks as they hurried past.

A man was walking by. He took a few coins from his pocket and dropped them into the hat. He then took the sign, turned it around, and wrote some words.

Then he put the sign back in the boy’s hand so that everyone who walked by would see the new words.

Soon the hat began to fill up. A lot more people were giving money to the blind boy.

That afternoon, the man who had changed the sign returned to see how things were.

The boy recognized his footsteps and asked,

“Were you the one who changed my sign this morning? What did you write?”

The man said,

“I only wrote the truth. I said what you said but in a different way. I wrote”,

“Today is a beautiful day, but I cannot see it.”

Both signs spoke the truth. But the first sign simply said the boy was blind, while the second sign conveyed to everyone walking by how grateful they should be to see…

Why an attitude of gratitude?

When your life seems full of troubles, it seems difficult to maintain an attitude of gratitude, doesn’t it? All we see are our problems.

And the times when everything just seems to be going smoothly? We often take these precious moments for granted too, don’t we? Caught up in the bliss, comfort, and familiarity of it all, we can simply forget to be thankful.

Then, what is gratitude?

Nick Ortner, a dynamic speaker, film maker and presenter of breakthrough live tapping sessions, says,

“Simply put, gratitude is a habit. It’s a way of looking at the world and all the good things in it with a feeling of appreciation, regardless of whether your current situation is to your liking.”

He continues,

“Gratitude is an approach to being at peace with yourself and with all you have. When you practice this feeling of gratitude, it attracts even MORE things into your life for which to be grateful.”

Go ahead, try it out right now. What or who do you have in your life to be thankful for?

I’d love to read some things that you are grateful for, either big or small.

Share them below!