Practicing the Season of Gratitude All Year Long

It’s that time of year again! Although this year’s Thanksgiving season may look different from the years’ past, one thing remains the same: Gratitude.

Are you practicing gratitude every day? Or does it fall by the wayside with everything else you have going on? It’s easy to lose sight of how much we have to be grateful for when we’re juggling multiple roles during this pandemic and trying to stay productive.

We ALL have do much to be grateful for regardless of the pandemic and regardless of whether we can have a traditional feast surrounded by loved ones.

We can be grateful we have a job or for the work we do. I’m grateful every day for my work as an executive coach in Atlanta and the clients I get to see make breakthroughs to reach their goals. I’m also grateful when my kids navigate their school day successfully, and whenever I get to chat with a neighbor on my porch.

I try to practice gratitude every.single.day. However, it’s not those big moments or events that inspire gratitude, it’s the quieter ones that whisper to us throughout the day.

I reached out to one of the most grateful people I know, Magen McRoberts. As the CEO of Auction Eventworks, Magen runs an impact company that helps nonprofits raise more money, which is more important now than ever. Magen also embraces her work as a way to incorporate more gratitude into her day and shares some of her best tips.

Practice Empathy

Magen says she’s fortunate that she has a constant reminder to practice gratitude every day at work. Her nonprofit clients share stories of their mission to help those that are less fortunate and struggling. She takes an empathetic approach to immerse herself into those stories and identify what it would be like to experience homelessness, abuse, or life as a veteran recovering from serious trauma. By putting herself in the shoes of the causes she supports, Magen sees how truly fortunate she and her family are. In this way, her work with nonprofits also intersects with her gratitude baseline.

“Every day when I wake up, it’s like today’s the day that I have the ability to encourage, to inspire others, to support a cause.”

I love using this approach in my own work as an executive coach in Atlanta. When I really get into the mindset, emotions, and obstacles of my clients, I can serve them on a deeper and more holistic level. The more I see the unique strengths and gifts that my clients have, the more tuned in I am to the gifts and blessings in my life.

Look to Your Basic Needs

What if you feel worn out and can’t think of what you’re grateful for on any given day? Even being grateful for your basic Maslow’s hierarchy of needs being met is something to be grateful for. When is the last time you experienced gratitude for food, clean water, and shelter? It is so easy to take these blessings for granted, until your power goes out for 4 days or a Hurricane strikes.

“So once you get into that kind of homeostasis of gratitude as I would call it, and then you can start building upon that and infusing that throughout your day,” Magen says.

Teach Kids Gratitude Early and Often

If you have kids, Magen suggests expressing gratitude during your bedtime routine. “In our family, we pray and we thank God for the shoes on our feet and the roof over our head, and the food in our bellies. And then we start praying and thinking the tiny things. Thank you for buddy bear, thank you for our cozy blankets.”

My daughter thinks it’s hilarious that I’m eternally grateful for coffee. But, it brightens every morning!

At dinner time, we list what we’re grateful for and my list frequently includes client breakthroughs to reach their goals experienced in my work as an executive coach in Atlanta and morning walks with my dog, Red.

Exercise the Gratitude Muscle

Despite how grateful you feel, it’s normal to want more in your life. However, you can practice gratitude and want more for yourself at the same time. It’s about balancing what you already have, and feeling grateful for that, while staying thankful for what’s to come. If you’re struggling with this practice, spend some time exercising your own gratitude muscle. It takes some time to strengthen, but over time you’ll find yourself flooded with gratitude.

“When you practice gratitude, the more you tend to find yourself, you would think that you would find that gratitude for all the biggest things. But actually what happens in that practice is that you start finding gratitude in the smaller things, because those are the things that are actually enriching your intimate life, as opposed to maybe big picture, bottom line, financial success, et cetera.”

Magen sums it best when she shares, “It’s the tiny things that you actually end up finding a lot more gratitude for.”

Do you want to find more gratitude in your life, break free from limitations, and start fearlessly living your best life? If you’re ready to explore my services as an executive coach in Atlanta, apply for a complimentary Discovery Session here.

And remember, anyone or anything who doesn’t light you up is too small for you,

Sarah-Nell

Executive Coach + Trusted Advisor to Attorneys and Business Owners