Exercise:
“Gratitude and Recognition Letter.”
Bring to mind a person significant in your life that in some powerful way helped you in a time of crisis or was there for you when the chips were down to help you gain a sense of comfort.
- What did this person do for you that will forever make you feel grateful?
- How did this person allow you to experience comfort in a tough situation?
- If this person were standing in front of you right now, how would you express your gratitude to her or him?
- If it’s possible, why not call (not text or post a message on social media) letting him or her know just why it is you care.
Exercise:
Think of someone who presently in some way facilitates your day or plays a role for you to experience comfort in your life, e.g. the manager of your apartment building who maintains the property, the woman at the pharmacy who fills the prescription for a medicine you require daily, or the security guard at your office building.
This interconnected and vast network of people in your life—whether you know them by name or not—constitute your tribe. Every one of these people to some extent assists you in generating your Happiness Strategy of Comfort. Knowing that your tribe provides a daily structure for you to go about your day free from the threats of survival promote a Happy Brain.
Exercise:
Share your experience about how you felt from doing your “Gratitude and Recognition” exercise and invite others you know to participate in this task.
Begin to apply the Happiness Strategy of Comfort into your own life in order to enjoy the benefits of your Happy Brain.
Article: The Gift of Presence, The Perils of Advice
Video: Explore more about the brain science behind “gratitude”
Gratitude has been defined as a warmly or deeply appreciative attitude for kindnesses or benefits received. But gratitude is not just a “feel good” emotion. Grateful behavior can facilitate positive interpersonal and community relationships that may in turn influence other key outcomes. Effectively applied in the workplace, for instance, gratitude may positively impact such factors as job satisfaction, loyalty, and citizenship behavior, while reducing employee turnover and increasing organizational profitability and productivity.
Grateful individuals report higher levels of life satisfaction and optimism and greater energy and connections with other people. Here are few strategies for expressing gratitude to help you get ahead at work.
Exercise:
- What do you believe are the three greatest obstacles in your own life that diminish or undermine your ability to achieve happiness?
- If you could see yourself one year from now, what would be your greatest source of happiness—something that presently is lacking in your life?