High Performance Mindset | Learn from World-Class Leaders, Consultants, Athletes & Coaches about Mindset - 18: The Gratitude Effect

Episode Date: November 30, 2015

Gratitude is like a muscle – the more you use it, the stronger that muscle gets. In this episode, we talk about the power of saying thank you and being gratitude. We discuss the "gratitude effect" and 4 gratitude practices you can do regularly. When you express your gratitude, you are in one of the best possible emotional states possible. Be grateful for everything you have today – even the difficulties.

Welcome to High Performance Mindset with Dr. Sindra Kampoff. Do you want to reach your full potential, live a life of passion, go after your dreams? Each week we bring you strategies and interviews to help you ignite your mindset. Let's bring on Sindra. Welcome to the High Performance Mindset Podcast. This is your host, Sindra Kampoff, here to help you master your mindset for a genius life. Today's message is about the power of gratitude, the power of saying thank you, and how we should be grateful for everything that happens in our lives, even the difficulty.

So thank you so much for joining me today. This message is particularly meaningful today in the spirit of Thanksgiving that we just celebrated in the United States. But it's not just important that we say thank you on Thanksgiving. But gratitude should be a daily practice that we all engage in. And the research proves why we should do that. Those two words, thank you, have the power to transform your relationships. They can transform the amount of success that you experience and your happiness. And gratitude can transform our athletic performance. Research shows, for example, that grateful people are happier. They're more likely to maintain good, solid relationships. A state of gratitude helps us reduce stress and think more clearly under pressure. That's why

it's essential for athletic performance. And do you know the number one reason why people leave their jobs? It's because they don't feel appreciated. So showing your gratitude can change other people's moods at work and can increase engagement. And that's why gratitude is so incredibly important for each of us to practice daily. A simple thank you can go a long ways. Now there's a really cool study that I just read from two Harvard professors, which shows us the magnificent impact of gratitude and how when we say thank you, it can lead to what's called the gratitude effect.

So in this study, which they call the power of saying thank you, two groups were asked to provide a fictional student with feedback. So one group afterwards was emailed just this, I received your feedback, period. Now the second group was emailed the same after giving the feedback, and they received this email that said, I received your feedback. Thank you so much. I am really grateful. Well, what's incredible is the second group, which received the more grateful message was more likely to feel good about themselves. In fact, 55% of that group had higher self-worth, which is really one's own value and worth as a person, just by having someone else say thank you. Now the group that received the thank you, I'm really grateful at the end, was

also double likely to help another person. Now these Harvard professors called this the gratitude effect, because when you say thank you, you're triggering other helpful behaviors in the world. So let's talk about four ways that we could practice gratitude more often. You know, on Thanksgiving day, my six-year-old suggested that we all go around and say what we're grateful for. I smiled the whole way and it was incredible listening to my family, my parents, my husband, my sisters, my nieces and nephews each talk about what they were thankful for. So that's an easy practice to remember to do on Thanksgiving. But why not, at every mealtime, have a mealtime thank you. Where you go around the table and have each person, including the kids, say what they're thankful for.

This will increase your happiness and your connection with other people at the table and have each person, including the kids, say what they're thankful for. This will increase your happiness and your connection with other people at the table. Second thing is during this holiday season, when you say thank you, mean it. So many times if you're like me, you can say thank you, but you don't feel it. You don't even look the person in the eye when you say thank you. So when you say thank you this week, feel it in your body. And don't just say thank you to say it, but tell the person specifically what you're thankful for. Third thing that you can do is go old school. Write someone a written thank you today. Be specific about what they did and what you're thankful for. I recently read how the CEO of Campbell Soup, Doug Conant, wrote 30,000 thank yous for his employees.

And just that practice energized the company. Could you imagine writing 30,000 thank yous? If you're a coach, a leader, administrator, how about work to write one thank you each week to the end of the year? The third thing that you can do is write a gratitude letter. Research by Marty Seligman, who's the father of the field of positive psychology, his research suggests that when you write someone a letter and tell them why you're grateful for them, this can increase your happiness up to 10% a month later. So this is one of the most powerful things that I've ever done. A few years ago, I was

featured in a commercial for my university where I'm a professor. And, you know, just being featured in this commercial really had a drastic impact on my belief that my work was valuable. So I took a leap. I sent an email from my heart to the person that chose me from the commercial. I told him exactly the impact that that commercial had in my life, the impact that it had on my belief in my ability to share my message with the world. You know, it didn't even really matter if he opened that email or not, because when I had sent, I felt so much better about myself and my future, it had already increased my happiness. And it turns out he loved it. Who wouldn't love to receive a message like that? So I encourage you to write a gratitude letter this week. As I was talking, I'm hopeful that you thought about who could you say thank you to

that maybe could really use it. So four ways that you can increase your gratitude today are the mealtime thank you. Every meal, go around and say what you're thankful for. When you say thank you, really mean it. Feel it in your body and tell the person specifically what you're thankful for. The third thing we talked about is go old school. Write someone a written thank you today. And the fourth thing we talked about today is write a gratitude letter this can increase your

happiness up to 10% a month later you know gratitude is like a muscle the more we use it the stronger that muscle gets and when you express your gratitude you are in one of the best emotional states possible. So today, show your gratitude. Because everything happens for us, not to us. And everything happens, even pain or discomfort for us. So my friends, be grateful for everything that you have, even the difficulties. And I'd love to hear what you think about this message. You can send me an email at

cindra at cindracampoff.com. I love to get your emails. You can also tweet at me at at mentally underscore strong. And if you have any suggestions on topics that you would like to see covered on the high performance mindset, please shoot me an email. Thank you, my friends. Make it a great day and be mentally strong. Thank you for listening to High Performance Mindset. Are you signed up for Sindra's weekly email with free mental tools and strategies for high performance? Why the heck not? Text MENTALLYSTRONG, all one word, to 22828 or visit sindracampoff.com.