The reports are in. Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you are hearing more and and more about how having an attitude of gratitude enhances our lives – and our performance. In this November Hot Take episode, Maria shares about how embracing gratitude will not only strengthen your empathy, but how it can help you to improve your life.
To access this episode transcript, please scroll down below.
Key Takeaways:
- Despite the misinformation surrounding the Thanksgiving season, it is so valuable to step back and be thankful for what we do have.
- Pausing is essential to building empathy – it allows us to see, hear, and notice them in a way we can’t when we are always rushing about.
- Going fast makes us less productive and less effective – by slowing down we are able to have more of an impact than we realize.
“Steadying yourself to think about what you can be grateful for enables you to slow down enough to notice who and what is around you.” — Maria Ross
References Mentioned:
Studies on gratitude:
The Empathy Edge interviews:
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FULL TRANSCRIPT BELOW:
Welcome to the empathy edge podcast the show that proves why cash flow, creativity and compassion are not mutually exclusive. I’m your host Maria Ross. I’m a speaker, author, mom, facilitator and empathy advocate. And here you’ll meet trailblazing leaders and executives, authors and experts who embrace empathy to achieve radical success. We discuss all facets of empathy from trends and research to the future of work, to how to heal societal divisions and collaborate more effectively. Our goal is to redefine success and prove that empathy isn’t just good for society. It’s great for business. Hi, everyone. Okay, it’s Thanksgiving month here in the US November. We know Thanksgiving is fraught with a lot of baggage historically. And we’re starting to unpack that many of us are as a country, but I wanted the theme of this month’s hot take to be about gratitude. The reports are in unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’re hearing more and more about how having an attitude of gratitude enhances our lives and our performance. This is not some simple hack of Pollyanna thinking. Studies show that a sustained practice of gratitude, improves heart health, increases resilience, improve sleep, provides great mental well being and even improves overall health and well being. And gratitude increases our emotional intelligence and empathy. Why? When we practice gratitude, we get out of our selfish center and notice what’s around us, including other people. I personally find gratitude grounds me, it literally causes me to slow down, lower my blood pressure, and calm my monkey mind. Pausing is essential to building empathy. In order to see things from another person’s perspective, we’ve got to be able to see them, hear them, notice their tone, body language and facial expressions. Studying yourself to think about what you can be grateful for enables you to slow down enough to notice who and what is around you. In my leadership trainings, I often talk about the need to slow down, going so fast is making us less effective and productive. And quite frankly, when we’re racing, I guess when I’m racing, I tend to do a half assed job at any one thing. You may feel this too. Now, I’ve talked about this with leaders on my podcast before that need, but more importantly, that ability to force yourself to slow down in the face of pressure, stress and chaos. Some of the most impactful interviews I’ve had about this, were with Paul Mirabella when he spoke about leading through crisis. We’re talking 911, the financial shutdown of 2008 and most recently, COVID. And with Chris L. Johnson, who speaks about how when leaders pause, they win. I highly recommend you check out these episodes, and I’ll put the links in the show notes. This month, as I said, we celebrate Thanksgiving in the United States. And again, like I said, despite this holiday being fraught with misinformation and revisionist history, I believe it’s valuable that we honor the truth and take that needed step back to be thankful. Thankful for what we do have for those in our lives for any privileges we enjoy, and to take that step back to slow down and use our senses. That’s how we can gain emotional regulation and connect better with those around us. Whether coworkers or community, friends or family. Embrace gratitude wherever you can and see how it enhances your relationships with others and yourself going forward. And make sure you tell me about it. You can ping me on Instagram at Red slice Maria. Or of course I’m on LinkedIn, Maria J. Ross. Until next time, I am grateful for you and all of you listeners out there who are supporting empathy as a way to achieve radical success. Until next time, remember that cash flow, creativity and compassion are not mutually exclusive. Take care, be grateful and be kind For more on how to achieve radical success through empathy, visit the empathy edge.com. There you can listen to past episodes, access shownotes and free resources, book me for a Keynote or workshop and sign up for our email list to get new episodes, insights, news and events. Please follow me on Instagram at Red slice Maria. Never forget empathy is your superpower. Use it to make your work and the world a better place.
