Dear Member November 11, 2019 - Gratitude

Dear Member November 11, 2019 - Gratitude

Every day we get up and we go to work with no thought about the men and women who are serving our country. We contemplate our days, thinking, “How much work do I have to get done today?”, “Do I add another staff person?”, “Can I make that meeting?”, “When is my day going to end?”, or “As soon as I get off work I need to get the kids to sports practice, help with homework, and fix dinner.”...the list goes on and on. We get so caught up in our own everyday lives that we forget that there are people that have given up their everyday lives to serve this country so that we can enjoy our freedom and our everyday lives. They sacrifice beyond what any of us can ever begin to imagine. Being grateful to these men and women on one day and showing gratitude is a good start, but gratitude is something we should bring into our lives every day.  Veterans Day reminds us that we need to be grateful and thankful for their service. But shouldn’t we be thankful every day? 

Being grateful has been proven to be a strong emotion with powerful results. Studies have shown that employing gratitude in our lives can be life changing. Having gratitude can improve your life satisfaction, happiness, optimism, hope, positive emotion, while decreasing anxiety and depression, according to Jo-Ann Tsang, psychologist at Baylor University. What’ s more research shows “...grateful people are more likely to behave in a pro-social manner, experiencing more sensitivity and empathy toward others and a decreased desire to seek revenge,” according to Michelle Konstantinovsky. WOW! Don’t we all know people who could use some gratitude in their lives?

As John F. Kennedy once said, “As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter the words, but live by them.”  Let today, this Veterans Day, be a day to show gratitude and to be thankful and also let it be a day that we bring gratitude into our lives and live with gratitude every day.

Work hard, be productive, and, above all else stay positive.

 
Peggy White
Executive Director
Pulaski County Chamber of Commerce
peggywhite@pulaskichamber.info

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