Just for now, lay down the
weight you so patiently
bear upon your shoulders.
Feel the earth receive
you, and the infinite
expanse of sky grow even
wider as your awareness
reaches up to meet it. Read more
Gratitude can have such a powerful impact on your life because it engages your brain in a virtuous cycle. ~Alex Korb Ph.D
On a surface level, appreciation is good for employee engagement, motivation and retention. Employee recognition and appreciation can create a unique company culture and strengthen employee relationships. Companies can deliberately infuse their cultures, from top to bottom, with the proverbial “attitude of gratitude.” Employee appreciation boosts performance and engagement as well as the employee’s well-being and health. When coworkers show appreciation or gratitude towards one another, a more social and prosocial interaction is created.
By implementing gratitude into company culture, employees are more willing to spread their positive feelings with others, whether it’s helping out with a project or taking time to notice and recognizing those that have gone the extra mile.
The greatest psychological effect of appreciation is the happiness and other emotions immediately felt when we either give or receive gratitude. Gratitude creates good feelings, cheerful memories, better self-esteem, feeling more relaxed and more optimistic. All of these emotions creates a pay it forward and “we’re in this together” mentality in the workplace, which in turn, makes your organization more successful. Plus, the dopamine effect will encourage a continuous cycle of recognition if everyone participates. All of these emotions, plus many more, are what most employers want out of their staff to again, create unity. Read more
Neil Pasricha is a Canadian author and speaker who advocates positivity and simple pleasures. He is known for his New York Times best seller, “The Book Of Awesome”, as well as his TEDx talk, “The 3 A’s of Awesome”.
Backed by loads of research, his book, “The Happiness Equation”, discusses how we can train our brains to be happy. Happiness is something we do to make life ‘awesome’ rather than the result of everything being awesome. It comes from conscious awareness and thought using practical, effective and enjoyable strategies.
Researchers have found that the more physically active we are, the greater our overall feelings of excitement and enthusiasm. And it doesn’t take much: just 30 minutes of brisk walking, three days a week will do it.
Taking 20 minutes each day to write about a positive experience allows you to relive the event. It can be anything but the focus is that it was something that made you feel good. The purpose is to rekindle those happy feelings. Read more
Conscientiousness is a personality trait of being thorough, careful and attentive. People who exhibit this trait are efficient and organized, aim for achievement and possess self-discipline.
According to research, people who are conscientious live longer, earn more, have more influence, are happier at work and have better relationships than those who don’t display this characteristic. They also tend to purposefully avoid behaviors that will be detrimental to their long-term happiness and their overall success. Instead they focus on what will contribute to their achievements and contentment.
Conscientious people stick to a budget. They don’t make impulsive and unnecessary purchases. Instead, they take time to consider if they really need or want something and how that might impact their finances. They also pay their bills on time and stay within their credit limits, all things that benefit their long-term financial stability. Read more
Fun is good. ~Dr. Seuss
Now those are words to live by. Fun is good. We need to find time to let our hair down and enjoy life.
Find time today to sing, dance, laugh, skip, be silly. Have some fun. Life is too short for being serious all the time.
All too often, we get caught up in the serious things life throws at us.
You miss 100% of the shots you never take ~Wayne Gretzky
Making a big life change is pretty scary.
But, there’s something even scarier.
Life is all about taking risks. We do it from the moment we are born but as we get older, many of us shy way from things that seem too uncertain. We begin to play the “What if” game and often get caught up by fear of failure, making mistakes or the unknown.
But consider this: Everything we have ever done in life, we’ve had to do for the very first time. If we always played it safe, we wouldn’t be walking, talking, have friends, own a house, traveled, interviewed for the job we really wanted… Each of those entailed risk. And when we stop and think about it, look how much we’ve achieved! Read more
Know that your kindness has a ripple effect in the universe.
Just like gratitude, kindness is powerful. It can have an enormous impact on the world. Opportunities to be kind are all around us, each and every day. When we spread the seeds of kindness, we help others and also fill our own souls and hearts.
Kindness is a virtue and is a much-sought after value in many cultures. No act of kindness is every wasted. It is even possible to be kind to those for which we have no fondness. The smallest act of kindness is worth more that the greatest intention and is appreciated a thousandfold. Read more
Be a first rate version of yourself, not a second rate version of someone else. ~Judy Garland
We tend to base our idea of who we are on our everyday roles. We alter who we are based on our role as parent, spouse, friend, sibling as well as what we do in our jobs or what professional qualifications we possess. We may even change our personas in different social situations, acting out of character because we think we have to do so to fit it. Fundamentally changing who we are to fit our various roles hinders our ability to truly be our authentic selves at the deepest level.
Research suggests that authentic people are well-liked and benefit from social support and other positive outcomes associated with experiencing close relationships.
Being genuine allows us to always be a first-rate version of ourselves. At the same time, it is important to not hide behind a veil of authenticity as an excuse to avoid uncomfortable situations. There are always instances when we need to explore outside our comfort zone in order to learn and grow both personally and professionally. It is possible to be both authentic while evolving our personal style and identity. Read more
You, yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe deserve your love and affection. ~Buddha
Appreciating ourselves may seem somewhat ego-driven. But consider the fact that each of our relationships depend upon our relationship with ourselves. If we don’t love ourselves, we can’t possibly love others. If we don’t respect ourselves, odds are we won’t make respectable choices. If we don’t value our time, we may not use time in a way that is the most valuable. The way we treat ourselves determines how we treat the world around us. Just as important as acknowledging everything else in life that we are grateful for, it is equally important to recognize the good we each do each day for ourselves, for others and for the world around us.
We often compare ourselves against others. Their success, how much money they make, their possessions, even how many “Likes” they get on Facebook or other social media outlets. But rather than benchmarking ourselves against the accomplishments of others, we should consider what we have achieved. When we focus on the truth of who we are and what we have accomplished, we can begin to appreciate ourselves, our talents and gifts and our contributions to the world.
When you find yourself thinking negative thoughts about yourself, your achievements and who you are, stop them in their tracks. Change your inner dialog to one of appreciation for who you are and what you’ve accomplished. Rather than telling yourself you can’t and won’t, or are in a state of constant struggle, look at the good. Read more
Every morning starts a new page in your story. make it a great one today. ~Doe Zanamata
Studies prove that our willpower is at its peak in the morning. Establishing a morning ritual allows us to set our intentions for the day ahead. Mornings are the ideal time to create a routine and set priorities, as this minimizes becoming distracted by other less important things and helps keep stress at bay. It also ensures we achieve what we set out to do before our body and mind fatigue.
The proper amount of sleep is necessary for mental and physical health. It boosts our creativity, productivity and ability to handle the challenges and opportunities the next day will bring.
Although this sounds unappealing to many and will take some time to adjust to, research shows that early risers are more optimistic. They consciously anticipate problems and are able to minimize them effectively, a critical skill to success in our lives and careers. It also allows us to have quiet time along to plan and prepare. Read more
