A positive mindset can go a long way in helping you become a better business leader and a happier and healthier person. Not only does a positive mindset affect your own mental health, but it affects those around you, especially from a leadership position where your mood and the decisions you make can have a ripple effect throughout your business. On top of all the benefits for your business, a positive mindset can help you counteract or bypass burnout.
So how do you get a positive mindset? One of the best-known tools for cultivating positivity is regularly practicing gratitude. But the word “gratitude” is used so often that it’s sometimes difficult to understand what it really means, and especially how to practice it. After all, isn’t gratitude just a feeling?
It wasn’t until I learned an important lesson about gratitude that I really understood its power to create a positive mindset: Gratitude is an action, not a feeling.
Feelings are hard to control. Our emotions come and go as a natural response to events. However, feelings can be influenced greatly by mindset. So how do you go about changing your mindset? It starts with actions.
Rather than waiting for a feeling of gratitude to come, you can create moments of gratitude. The more often you do it, the easier it will become and the more grateful and positive you will feel. Start by acting like you’re grateful, and you’ll soon begin to recognize all the wonderful and positive things about your life. The feelings of gratitude and positivity will follow.
Here are six ways to create gratitude and positivity in your business and daily life:
Start your day with gratitude
How you start your day can have lingering effects on your feelings and actions throughout the day. That’s why many people carefully craft their morning routines to establish their mindset and optimize their day. This is the perfect time to establish a positive mindset using gratitude practices.
While gratitude journaling is a great option, if you’re limited on time in the morning, just state aloud what you’re grateful for while you make breakfast or complete your morning workout. Or share your thoughts with a family member. Spoken words have more power than thoughts alone, but even thinking grateful thoughts is a good way to start the morning. All of these practices help to focus your mind on the things you appreciate and help you feel more satisfied with life.
Express your gratitude in writing
Writing is a fantastic way to process your thoughts and emotions, and like speaking words aloud, it solidifies things in your mind more than just thinking a thought does. That’s why gratitude journaling can be such a powerful practice.
A few other ways you can express your gratitude in writing are writing letters to people who have made a difference for you, or simply writing thank-you notes to people you appreciate. All the better, if you send these letters and thank-you notes, you’ll spread the positivity to your recipient. Writing thank-you notes to your team members can be a great way to show them your appreciation and bring positivity into the workplace.
Celebrate the wins in business
Whenever you reach a business goal or something positive happens in your company, stop to celebrate it. Take the time to appreciate what’s been accomplished and the efforts of the people who made it happen. Make sure to thank people for their contributions. Celebrating wins goes a long way toward improving team morale and overall positivity, and a team that feels appreciated will be happier and more productive.
Appreciate your family and friends
Happiness at home translates to better happiness and productivity in business, and it’s important to make time to appreciate the people who matter most to you. The best way you can thank your family and friends is by making time for them, but you can do even more by thanking them for what they do for you, being there to celebrate events with them, and just telling them how they make you feel. In doing so, you’ll find you appreciate them all the more, and it’ll only help strengthen those relationships.
Practice generosity
Generosity has remarkable effects on your sense of purpose and wellbeing, and it can go a long way in making you feel more grateful for what you have and for the people around you. Look for ways to be generous to others, on your team, at home, and in the world at large. When you do something kind for someone, whether that’s giving your time, knowledge, energy, or money, you remind yourself of how much you already have that you’re grateful for, and you increase your feelings of purpose, altruism, and wellbeing, which all contribute to a positive mindset.
Stay grateful when things go wrong
Practice gratitude most of all when things are difficult, when you fail, or when you’re frustrated with others. By practicing gratitude regularly, it’ll be easier to keep a positive mindset when things don’t go according to plan. This is when gratitude and positivity matter most. If you can remain positive during difficult times, you’ll be much better equipped to solve problems and lead your team back to success.
Don’t underestimate the power of gratitude to create a positive mindset. Gratitude is more than just a feeling—it’s an action. Start by practicing gratitude through actions, and you’ll spread the positive beyond just your own mindset to improve the lives of others around you as well.
