Gratitude in Business: Why It's Incredibly Important

Jen:

This is a special bonus episode of Women Conquer Business. I'm recording this on Thursday. I don't know. April 45th I think it's actually April 9th and this is actually audio taken from a Facebook Live that I recorded yesterday, so bear in mind I was exhausted yesterday. I had been up since 3:00 AM because I couldn't sleep. I had so much going on as you'll learn on my mind, but once everything came clear, I realized how much I had to be grateful for.

Jen:

One of the things that you don't know about me perhaps is that when I make appearances on other people's podcasts, I usually talk about gratitude and leadership and how the two are inextricably intertwined in my own thinking. And yet even then knowing that sometimes even I forget how important it is to share gratitude.

Jen:

I will also add, and I'm putting it in the show notes, that I recently appeared on the growing your team podcast where I talk all about gratitude and leadership in a much more, hey, learn about this and talk about it with your team sort of way as opposed to, hey, things are kind of crazy right now and I forgot about gratitude, but here's why it's important, which is what this bonus episode is all about.

Jen:

So please enjoy and I really hope that you're taking care of yourselves and that you enjoy this new heartfelt message that is still true today, even though I'm feeling a lot less tired. So take care of yourselves and talk to you soon.

Jen:

Welcome to women conquer business. My name is Jen McFarland. This podcast is for smart, serious business owners tired of the senseless chatter about growing a business. If you don't want to hear anymore get rich quick, too good to be true. Nonsense, you've come to the right place. You'll learn why mindset is everything as well as strategies for sustainable business growth and how to implement it. Along with the secrets I learned leading large scale business projects that also apply to five and six-figure businesses.

Jen:

Are you ready? Let's go forth and conquer. I was thinking about how truly grateful I am for all of the things that are going on around me that are good. I've had my brother in isolation, he's a nurse and was exposed to COVID-19 and he's okay. I have a relative who was in the hospital with respiratory issues and his tests came back negative. And so I've been like really stressed out and not really sharing it with anyone outside of the four walls of our own isolation.

Jen:

Because just even thinking about it and saying it out loud really was spinning me out and making it really hard for me to really be calm at all or let alone get anything done. And so I was thinking about it and how we all put so much pressure on ourselves to do and achieve and not enough time to really just relax and enjoy sometimes.

Jen:

And you might be thinking, well, I can't calm down because look at what's all going on around me, but it's also a good time to reflect and be grateful. And I was reminded of that when Patricia Thompson, who I interviewed on Monday as she was talking and even during the interview, my mind was still racing with all of the concerns that I had going on in the background of my life.

Jen:

But I just think that there's a time for mindfulness and a time for just showing up and sharing gratitude for all of the things that you do have. And I think that, that's where I'm at today is everything is still crazy out there. We are not through the pandemic by any stretch of the imagination. But what we can say is that not everything is bad. Things are not good. And like Patricia Thompson says, "You might not like it, but you can accept it in the moment."

Jen:

And that's one of the things that she was talking about was a radical acceptance, which is just this acceptance of what is in non-judgment. And I will admit that I have been struggling with that myself with like I said, with everything that's been going on and then today the sense of relief that I have of feeling gratitude for things turning out okay. But then realizing that I had a lot to be grateful for all along. And I think that as we continue to go through what has to be one of the most difficult times of any of our lives.

Jen:

I mean, I think it's unprecedented, at least in my lifetime. I think that as we do that, one of the things that we can do to really help ourselves is to find these opportunities to express how grateful we are for the things that are going right instead of continuing to cycle through all of the things that are going wrong. Because let's face it, it's really easy to think about all the things that are going wrong.

Jen:

It's really easy to surround ourselves with all of the noise and everything that's telling us that the world is crazy and everything is bad. And I think that it's a good time for us to settle in a little bit into realizing the things in our life that maybe aren't is difficult and the things in our lives that we are grateful for.

Jen:

Like for example, right now I'm grateful that I have electricity and internet and of course my husband and my house and my dog, who's crazy. But I think we all have things that we are grateful for in our lives, not just in the business context. And I think that the more we can ground ourselves in the things that we are grateful for, the better positioned we are to work on the bigger issues that many of us are struggling with in the business context, which would be how do we keep our clients or how do we get new ones in this crazy place?

Jen:

But one of the ways that we can really stay present and stay where we need to be is to remain grateful for the things that we do have and the things that are going right. And one of the things that I talk about a lot is how gratitude begets gratitude. One of the reasons why you want to have an attitude of gratitude is because it just kind of carries forward whether it's to the next person that you're talking to or just throughout your day.

Jen:

So one of the ways that we can actually get healthier and feel better throughout what is just nuts around us, everything is to express the things that we are thankful for, express the things that are going right and share it with other people. Again, this goes beyond anything in the business context. This goes into the things that are outside of that, but I think it will also help us as leaders to consider all of the things that are going right in the business and outside of it. That's what I'm thinking about today.

Jen:

And again, I'm just super grateful that not only that I have all of the creature comforts that I do, but also that so many of the things that could have gone wrong in my life with all of the health, at least today in this moment are going well and are going right. I just want to encourage other people to do the same and I think that, that will help us with maybe a different level of clarity, hopefulness, and I think that we all need to feel a little hopeful about things sometimes, especially when the world is upside down.

Jen:

So I hope that this is helpful for you. I hope that this finds you doing well and happy and joyful in just some little way. Seek out some little sliver today of what you're grateful for. I just want to thank you, wish you a happy day.

Jen:

Thank you for listening to the Women Conquer Business podcast. If you're wondering what's next, here are a few suggestions. If you love the show, be sure to subscribe. If you want to follow me on social media, you can find Women Conquer Business on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Pinterest.

Jen:

And finally at the episode today, brought something up for you and you need to talk. Email me at hello@jenmcfarland.com. The Women Conquer Business podcast is written and produced by Jen McFarland and Foster Growth, LLC, and beautiful Southeast Portland. Thanks again for listening.