More Than Just an ATTITUDE of Gratitude

I pulled a sweater over my head this morning, waking up and seeing that it was “only” 50 degrees.  Fortunately, the high temperature today in Tampa is forecast to be 78 degrees.  Meanwhile, not only are there cities around the U.S. today where the temperature might be seven or eight degrees, but the fact is that I have a clean sweater to pull over my head and I woke up in a warm bed with a good roof over my head.  Never mind the mere fact that I woke up, period.

For some reason, lately I have been much more sensitive to and aware of homeless people, a population that I do typically notice anyway.  Nonetheless, I picture where a large number of them are waking up this morning.

Clearly, I need to have an attitude of gratitude as I start my day.

But wait.  That has become too much of just an expression.  Are you expressing and showing your thanks or simply throwing that out there as good enough?

Why do we wait until November when we’re sitting around the table eating turkey to express what we’re thankful for?  Some people will read this and ask, “Why is he writing a blog on March 3rd about being grateful?”  It’s similar to how I once saw that there was something like, I can’t remember, a national day of forgiveness or reconciliation or something like that.  In other words, something that shouldn’t be reserved for just one designated day out of the year.

I find myself quite often writing emails to people these days wherein I’ll thank them, and then just to punctuate it, I’ll add, “Seriously.”  Or maybe I’ll use, “Truly.”  I want to emphasize that I’m not just saying it.  “Honestly” is another word I’ll use, or “Sincerely.”  And I do it just like that, meaning, I finish a sentence, and then after the period, my next statement is one word.

I’m not patting myself on the back here but merely hoping this will be a suggestion you’ll embrace.  It’s sad that I have to go out of my way to do it because the implication is that there’s not enough of these expressions happening.  It reminds me of a job I once worked at where a co-worker observed (of the organization), “We’re not good thankers.”  Yikes.

It can be easy to convince yourself that, “Well, so-and-so is supposed to do this for me.  Why should I thank them?”  For example, you’re an entertainer and someone books you to perform at their venue.  You can convince yourself that that’s just part of their job, but the fact is, they could’ve picked someone else and left you sitting at home on the couch.

For a lot of small businesses times are tough and there is a worry about not enough business.  I say, address that while remaining thankful for the business you do have and that you’re still operating and not closing up.

I often wonder if people who listen to my weekly “Now Hear This Entertainment” podcast get tired of hearing me say “Thank you for listening” or if people who read the weekly e-newsletter are put off by me expressing my gratitude so often in there (for reading that and for listening to the show).  But, just like telling people who I care about that I love them, I won’t apologize for thanking people.

Think about that last statement.  When was the last time that you thanked someone and they got mad at you for doing so?

If you’ve been listening to the podcast – plus I’m pretty sure I mentioned this somewhat recently here in the weekly blog – you’ve heard a guest or two say, “I get to go write a song” instead of “I have to go write a song.”

There’s actually an added benefit to showing and not just having an attitude of gratitude.  Similar to the question above, when was the last time that you thanked someone and you felt unhappy as you did so?  You’ll feel good about yourself and giving someone recognition they deserve.  I highly recommend it.

I know you might have an “Attitude of gratitude” inspirational quote hanging on your wall or maybe on a t-shirt.  But that’s just the start.  Take action on it and live it out.  Who can you thank today that you otherwise would take for granted?

For more than twenty years I have been helping indie music artists, authors, actors, entrepreneurs, podcasters, filmmakers, small business owners, and more.  What challenges are you having in your creator career that I can lend some insight to?  Connect with me so you can take advantage of all my experience, and I can help and keep you moving forward.