Going to a Football Game Doesn’t Make You an Athlete

by Tim Staton

 I was recently given the privilege of speaking about gratitude to a group of worker/trainers.   An hour into the two hour session one of the participants got everyone's attention and announced "This stuff won't work here.  You are out of touch with the type of work we do and the type of people we deal with.  We can't take this stuff back to work...they would eat our lunch!  I will sit here and listen for the next hour because that is what we are supposed to do but I'm not buying".  Shocked silence in the room.  I thanked him for his perspective and told him that I appreciated his being willing to finish the class.

A few minutes later we got to the "practical application" portion of the presentation where everyone chooses two people that they want to encourage with a note of gratitude, appreciation or praise.  They write one sentence on a note pad to each of the two people.  Then they deliver the notes without talking or explaining.  I never saw it coming!  10 or 12 of the notes were delivered to this participant. They put them down in front of him until he started giggling and then the last two actually stuck the notes to his shirt.  His giggling stopped and his demeanor shifted entirely.  He was obviously overwhelmed and the rest of us witnessed a transformation take place before our eyes.  Amazing!  He picked up one note after another and read them.  After class he gave me a handshake and a "man-hug", looked me in the eye and said "I get it...I will be using this".

I send a short email to encourage and cheer on the 30 Day Gratitude Challenge group each day. He had signed up.  I received a reply to my email on day 25 which said "You know, in class all of this sounded pretty good but these emails are nothing more than a bunch of drivel, don't send me anymore".  I thanked him and honored his wishes.  The moral of this true story:

Sitting in a class and participating in an exercise is not a formula for enjoying the benefits of a life of gratitude any more than one visit to the gym or one handful of vitamins is to living a life of health and fitness.  Gratitude is a Verb!  If you want the benefits of gratitude you must practice gratitude over and over again until it becomes a part of who you are.  You must hang out with grateful people (what group do you think he went back to?).  If you want the benefits of anything; health, fitness, education or gratitude, you will have to spend time energy and sometimes money.  If it is a value to you, you will, if not then it is all a bunch of drivel.

Tim Staton is passionate about gratitude, appreciation and praise (G.A.P).  He is an author, coach, public speaker and a fellow entrepreneur. 
Visit him at https://www.facebook.com/timstatondotcom