How Will Practicing Gratitude Impact Your Career?
Practicing gratitude regularly can have major impacts on your career and overall life. Studies indicate that those who embrace gratitude as a daily habit experience lower levels of stress, manage their feelings more effectively, and can better plan and navigate the challenges of daily life.
In this blog, we’ll discuss a few concrete examples of how you can practice gratitude – and reap the benefits. These practices can strengthen relationships in your professional network, which will eventually have a big impact on your career.
Write a thank you note.
A personal thank-you note to a team member benefits you and others. It allows you to express gratitude, which contextualizes your efforts with others and boosts your mental well-being. It also shares appreciation and recognition with a co-worker or supervisor, helping them see the benefits of their efforts.
Over time, thank-you notes build goodwill among your network. Others will be happier to help you when they know you appreciate and recognize their contributions.
Look for the good in collaborating with coworkers.
Collaboration can be stressful. Any efforts shared among a team open the potential for conflict. Yet collaboration can also be beneficial: on the best teams, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
When you work on a team, look for the benefits. Seek out the ways in which the team is stronger together. When you see these, voice them to team members or keep a list for yourself. This gratitude will eventually shape how you approach teamwork – and how your teammates feel appreciated and respected while working with you.
Give back to those on your team.
As you look for ways that teamwork and collaboration make you stronger, you’ll start to notice ways in which you can help others on your team. Options may include mentoring junior team members, agreeing to head up a project, or offering a lunchtime talk or other resources related to your particular strengths. Giving back is another way you can express appreciation and strengthen your networking bonds.