Gratitude Stops: Communities Are Asked, “What Are You Grateful For?”

Gratitude is more than feeling thankful; it’s expressing it! Those who feel and express gratitude for what they have and the relationships they experience have proven benefits for themselves. Gratefulness should be experienced by every single person, starting in childhood.

Parents know raising children in this “latest and greatest” society is not an easy task. Hofstra University did a study on the benefits of gratefulness for children. They found that children experience, “better relationships with friends and family, higher GPAs, less materialism, less envy and less depression, along with a desire to connect to their community and to want to give back.”- Froh (Hofstra University).

Adults experience amazing benefits as well. Psychology today  reported that gratefulness opened the door to new relationships, better health, decreased anger, and quality sleep. All of these benefits come from simply taking a moment to count your blessings.

How to Institute Gratefulness at Your Workplace

Do you want to make a difference in your workplace? How can you initiate a work environment where employees are grateful? Employees who are grateful spread positivity  throughout the institution by helping with projects, or even taking the time to give positive feedback to a coworker.

Can you imagine what that means for nursing? When nurses show positivity throughout the unit, patients will be satisfied and every team member will be more likely to work together. Gratefulness can be shown to the housekeepers, dietary, nurses aides and physicians!

The Wings of Hope Cancer Support Center  used creativity to come up with a project called the Gratitude Stop. A Gratitude Stop is a very easy way to implement gratefulness for everyone in the workplace and outside it. By asking people, “what are you grateful for?” and making a gratitude stop engages everyone in the organization and even visitors.

Setting Up Your Own Gratitude Stop

In the front of your hospital unit or doctor’s office, set up a dry erase board with markers attached. In the center and front write the question, “What are you grateful for?” answers will flow in.

According to Carolyn Ettinger, Wings of Hope Program Director, “the project is intended to help people focus on what they are thankful for and what is going right in their lives.  This helps keep life in perspective and can become a tool for healing and coping with difficulties in life.”

Try it! There is nothing to lose, but a lot to gain. May I ask, what are you grateful for?

Thanks so much for reading. Take care and stay connected!

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Dr. Renee Thompson works with healthcare organizations that want to overcome the leadership and clinical challenges their people face every day.

If you’d like to find out more about her programs, please visit her website www.reneethompsonspeaks.com.

Contact Renee today at [email protected] to bring her to your organization to talk about ending the cycle of nurse bullying.