THE LAST WORD
Gratitude, shmatitude.
Sometimes we just don't feel all that grateful.
Maybe we get up on the wrong side of the bed, the milk curdles our coffee, Mercury's in retrograde, who knows. Whatever it is, "thank you" ain't in that day's vocabulary. Better to walk around like grumpy groucho, spend a little wallow time with our bad self. Hey, we're entitled, worked hard for that sinking feeling and besides, our frown muscles need a little exercise too.
Or not.
Ye' olde Webster's defines gratitude as follows:
- A feeling of thankful appreciation for benefits received;
- A warm response to kindness.
Let's see. "A feeling of thankful appreciation," or a wasted "poor me" afternoon playing hopscotch on the remote. "A warm response to kindness" versus "the world owes me big time and I'm gonna' make ´em pay."
Which serves us better? More importantly, how does either response make us feel?
Like the old weight-lifting analogy, gratitude muscles build slowly and require constant workouts. While there is no perfect formula, practice does make perfect. And the payoffs can be huge.
Try these on for size. At the bank, take an extra moment to thank the teller that helps you out. Tell the person that bags your groceries at the supermarket how much you appreciate them. Be extra kind to the valet parking attendant, greet them with a smile and a big thank you.
What does this do for them? Values and empowers.
What's it do for you? Makes you feel great.
Wait a second. Aren't we in the valuing and empowering business-- somethin' about building beliefs, praising and cherishing each individual, one-to-one relationshipping, heart-to-heart bonding? How does this translate?
Every time you praise a new distributor, it builds their belief-- in you and in themselves. Every thank-you makes a person feel included, creates a sense of community. Often, that "community" acts as the glue that binds organizations together, especially during fledgling distributors' early days, before the big checks roll in. It can be the very catalyst that revives or resuscitates dormant prospects, particularly those who finally get tired enough of those other "thankless" jobs.
We get paid a lot of money for empowering others, replacing ourselves with fresh leaders. Since Network Marketing doesn't yet have a college curriculum, we take on the roles of teacher, teaching aid, colleague, support staff and friend. In tough times and while celebrating successes, few words pack the punch of "I really appreciate you," or "thank you for all that you do."
A Ph.D. in gratitude will require some effort, care and constant vigilance over the negative yak-yak voices. Sometimes, a person's small accomplishment may not seem to merit much commentary. Take the time to thank or acknowledge them anyway. A few words may mean the difference in whether that person makes it through one more tough day and takes on the leadership gig or simply packs it in-- a tragedy no matter how we look at it.
Oh yeah, one more thing.
The biggest benefit of all accrues directly to us and our own happiness. How great to live a life in appreciation of all that surrounds us. It warms the heart, cheers the spirit, celebrates the soul to thank the universe in all its human incarnations. What a wondrous time to live, love and play!!!
With all this said, I'd like to take a moment to thank all the staff at Upline, past, present and future for all that you do, have done and will continue to do. You make a huge difference in the world and in the lives of many people, day to day. I really appreciate you and your valuable contribution.
Mmhhmm', that feels soooo good! -RG
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Reprinted with permission from Upline, The Last Word - October 1998, 888-UPLINE-1, http://www.upline.com
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