An Exercise in Gratitude

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June 9, 2014 by Caroline Dobbins

I recently finished a book by a StartingBloc colleague of mine, Smiley Poswolsky, titled “The Quarter-Life Breakthrough.” I spent an 5 hours in one of my favorite coffee shops completely taken by the stories of individuals that have created a path of meaningful and fulfilling work. I believe it is the idea of my generation to work in jobs that allow us to be an integral part in the communities in which we reside and this particular book is all about how to make that a reality.

While reading I took diligent notes on the exercises that the book offers as resources to explore what you as an individual are passionate about, motivated by, scared of, grateful for and much more.

The first exercise is one of gratitude. “List five people you are grateful for, write a few sentences  about why you are grateful for them and then tell them.”

I am challenging myself to do for special individuals in my life and I challenge you to do the same. Expressing gratitude is something this is often hard for individuals to do but can be valuable for everyone.

We need to remind ourselves who the most important and influential individuals are in our daily lives and we need to share with those individuals that they make a difference. Don’t mistake gratitude for settling for what you have, but rather sharing the best that we have in order to better understand what motivates us for the future.