Being Thankful Isn’t Just Acting the Part
- Out of the Box Advisors
- Jun 30, 2020
- 8 min read
Updated: Jun 1
So there’s a lot of talk these days from self-help gurus and influencers about being “thankful” and showing gratitude in your life. A lot of the time it’s mentioned in the same breath as mindfulness and living “in” the moment. There’s actually legit reasons for that.
We live (and work) in a chaotic, very fast-paced world. It's text messages and Zoom calls and Slack pings and on and on and on. So living in the moment may seem like an oxymoron, but really, it's not. And you may be missing the boat!
Unboxed Wisdom: The Quick and Dirty on Being Thankful
Gratitude isn't fluff. It's a habit your brain actually learns. Harvard has the receipts.
Start small or you'll start nothing. One thing you're thankful for at 7 a.m. beats zero things at 7 a.m.
Share it out loud, not in your head. A genuine compliment lands different than a silent appreciation.
Your brain needs a break. Set the alarm. Take the pause. The work will still be there. Promise.
Celebrate the wins. Big ones, small ones, weird ones. If you don't pause to enjoy them, what was the point?
Your team feels what you feel. Walk in stressed and grumbly, the whole office matches. Walk in grateful, same deal.
Gratitude isn't toxic positivity. You can be thankful AND have a bad day. Both things can be true.
When your focus is continually on what’s next and what needs done, we tend to overlook the things that are actively happening, or in a workplace setting, things that are already accomplished. And WOW, if you think about it, that blows.
What’s the point of trying hard to achieve something if you don’t take a moment to relish in it when it’s actually achieved?! That’s pretty much the definition of insanity, or close enough for this girl, anyway.
When we don’t take those moments to celebrate, it’s not just ourselves that feels that underlying thud of buzzing stress, our team does as well. What was once a “high-five, fist-bump, chicken dance-moment” gets glossed over for the next big thing. And you can guess what happens then? Burn. Out. Fast.
See, we’re human. We love the thrill of the hunt. The pressure and determination to achieve. BUT we love those things because of the payoff, and it’s not always based on the cash. It’s the feeling of gratitude… kudos… feeling needed and appreciated.
When those things start to evaporate our desire to keep trying starts to wane, as well.
So, the million dollar question is how do we get back to being in the moment and showing thankfulness and gratitude more often?
It’s not an overnight switch. It takes practice and manifestation. But most importantly? You actually have to want to do it. And you should. Because a happy, fulfilled team is a team that’s absolutely killing it!
Why Gratitude Actually Works (and Why It's Not Just Hippie Stuff)
Here's the part where I usually expect the eye-roll. Self-help gurus. Manifestation boards. Sunset Instagram captions. I get it. But the research on gratitude is genuinely solid, and not just "some lady on TikTok said so" solid. We're talking Harvard solid.
In a Harvard Health summary of the science, researchers have consistently found that people who regularly practice gratitude are noticeably happier, sleep better, feel less stressed, and report stronger relationships, both personal and at work. There's even a 2024 study in JAMA Psychiatry suggesting people with the highest gratitude scores had a 9% lower risk of dying over the four-year study period. Nine. Percent. From thinking nice thoughts more often. I'll let that sit there for a second.
So no, we're not asking you to light a candle and chant. We're asking you to do the cheapest, most science-backed thing on the menu for your mental health, your team's mental health, and, accidentally, your bottom line. It's like flossing for your soul. Hate to do it, glad you did.
Here’s a couple of steps to get your mind in the right place to take all that success in, literally and figuratively.
1. Start Slow
Let the day start a little slower. The minute you wake up your mind floods with the onslaught of what’s coming up.
PAUSE! Take a moment right there. Stop for a second and try to stop those thoughts.
Make sure that you relish in what is positive around you. Perhaps it's the spring air in the morning or how your cat is reliably begging for food. Anything that give you a positive little spark to start off your day.
This’ll get easier over time so don’t get discouraged if it’s like holding up a paper towel to stop a tidal wave. You’ll get there. Start off by just picking one thing you know inspires happiness and then expand on it over time.
OH! This would also be a good time to take a moment to BREATHE!
2. Share the Love
Once you're at work take a moment at your desk and give someone a genuine compliment on something they've done well. You'd be surprised how that can kick the day off on the right foot and put the entire team on a different level. (We dug into this whole celebrate-your-team angle a lot deeper in our motivation hacks for small biz wizards post, if you wanna geek out on it.)
It's important to remember that your team is likely feeling that same potential dread of a lengthy task list. While your problems might be on a different scale, your team also experiences these same stresses.
A little spark of mindfulness and thankfulness can literally change someone's perspective on their day or even life in that moment. You started by finding something beautiful for your day and then be that light for someone you encounter in your day!
3. Avoid the Fog
As the day progresses, note when your brain starts to hit that foggy “what the hell am I doing” wall. You know the one.
This is where you take a break. Set an alarm on your phone to go off every hour. (Please don’t make it a dog bark or quack tone, okay? We don’t need complete bedlam ensuing here.)
When that alarm goes off. Turn yourself off for a second. No computer. No phone. No planner. Just sit and breathe. (See our post on breathing tips, as well!) It's a little reset. And can actually keep you focused to get through your to-do list. The American Psychological Association basically says the same thing in fancier words: regular micro-breaks restore your energy in the short term and help prevent burnout in the long term. Translation: the break is the work.
As a business owner, make sure that you design your policies and train your management team to not only allow this, but encourage it!
4. Celebrate the Good Times, C'mon!
And lastly, celebrate the big things, of course, but also the little things. This is the moment, the one we've were talking about. The one where you need to take off the blindfold and enjoy the view!
Landed a big client? Boom! Finished a big project? Aww yeah! You don’t have to bust out a ticker tape parade or anything but just take a moment to acknowledge it.
Give your team the praise they deserve. Encourage them to celebrate the company's and their own accomplishments. Cultivate your culture to looking out and seeing your success! (And if you want even more ideas for non-monetary ways to motivate your team, that's a whole rabbit hole worth tumbling down.)
5. Make it a Habit, Not a Mood
Here's the thing about gratitude. You'll be all in on Monday. By Friday you've forgotten the whole concept exists. By next Monday you're back to grumbling at your coffee maker like it personally wronged you. We've all been there.
The trick is to stop relying on the mood and start relying on the habit. Moods are flaky. Habits show up even when you don't feel like it. A few things that actually work in real life:
Stack it on something you already do. Brushing your teeth, pouring your coffee, sitting down at your desk. Tack "one thing I'm thankful for" onto a thing you already cannot skip. Now you can't skip the gratitude either.
Write it down, even if it feels silly. Three lines in the morning, three lines at night. A gratitude journal isn't a vibe, it's a tool. Even a sticky note on your monitor counts.
Make it a team ritual. Start Monday meetings with everyone sharing one win or one thank-you. Yes, the first few feel awkward. Then they don't. Then your team is the kind of team people want to work for.
Don't break the chain. Two days off isn't fatal. Two weeks off, and you're starting over. Forgive the misses, get back on the wagon.
Connect it to actually getting outside. Walking, fresh air, and a head full of "things I'm grateful for" is, hand on heart, one of the cheapest mental health interventions on the planet.
The whole point is to make this practice automatic so it survives the bad weeks. Because the bad weeks are exactly when you need it most, and they're also exactly when you'll forget if you've been winging it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does gratitude actually matter for business owners?
Because the version of you that's stressed, burned out, and not noticing anything good in your day is also the version of you making worse decisions, snapping at your team, and slowly hating the business you built. Gratitude is a stupidly cheap intervention that helps prevent all of that. The research is real, the practice is free, and the payoff shows up everywhere from your team morale to your own ability to keep doing this another twenty years.
How do I practice gratitude when I have zero time?
Start with literally one thing. Not a journal entry. Not a meditation session. One thing. "Coffee is hot. Today is here. My back doesn't hurt." That's a complete gratitude practice. The whole point is that the bar is on the floor. Build from there. If you have ten seconds at a red light, you have time to practice gratitude.
Is workplace recognition really worth the effort?
Yes, and not because it's nice (though it is). Research from Gallup, Workhuman, and basically every workplace study of the last decade keeps landing on the same finding: employees who are recognized regularly are more engaged, more productive, and dramatically less likely to leave. A specific, genuine "thank you" costs you about eight seconds and is one of the highest-ROI things you can do as a business owner.
How do you build a gratitude habit that actually sticks?
Stack it onto something you already do every day. Brushing your teeth, pouring coffee, sitting down at your desk. Tack "one thing I'm thankful for" onto a thing you can't skip, and now the gratitude is unskippable too. Write it down if you can. Make it a team ritual if you can. The single biggest reason gratitude habits fail is people rely on mood. Moods are unreliable. Habits aren't.
Can being thankful really improve productivity?
Sort of, but indirectly. Gratitude doesn't magically add hours to your day. What it does is reduce the chronic background noise of stress, burnout, and "is this even worth it" that quietly tanks your focus and decision-making. Less noise equals more bandwidth. More bandwidth equals more good decisions per hour. Over months, the math is wild.
What's the difference between gratitude and toxic positivity?
Gratitude is noticing what's good, even when things are hard. Toxic positivity is pretending nothing is hard. Gratitude says, "this week was rough, AND I'm thankful my team showed up for me anyway." Toxic positivity says, "everything is fine, stop complaining, good vibes only." One is honest. The other is exhausting. Don't confuse them.
Following these steps and just being "in the moment" will help you gain control of the office mojo and have you personally powering through workloads and feeling more and more fulfilled about the work you're doing. Who doesn't love that? Wondering where to start? Not sure how to implement these things? No worries. That's what we're here for. Schedule a free consultation with one of our small business coaches and let's see how we can put the ahhhh back in your office.
