Thoughts of gratitude have been on the minds of many in recent days. In the US we celebrated Thanksgiving last week; this holiday seems to bring people together like no other. There’s something about gathering together with family and friends that (most of the time) brings out the best in us all.
No matter what we are facing in life right now, there are things for which we can be (and absolutely should) be grateful. The act of focusing on the good things helps us keep moving forward during the tough times. We should be thankful for the people who make our lives happy. Albert Schweitzer said it well: “Sometimes our light goes out, but is blown into flame by another human being. Each of us owes deepest thanks to those who have rekindled this light.”
Think of a person who has made a difference in your life. Take a minute to thank him or her and express your appreciation for the positive impact he or she has made in your life. It will give you a renewed outlook and help you get through even the toughest times.
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The Product Management Perspective: The topic of gratitude is not often addressed in product management circles. However, I have never met a product manager who was not appreciative of the people who work hard to make his or her product(s) successful. Take a few minutes to express your gratitude to the team; do it on purpose. That simple act will increase their trust in you.
Lead on Purpose 
Pingback: The Meaning of Existence (and all that) » Gratitude Watch - 2008-12-02
December 3, 2008 at 12:16 pm
I followed my tag surfer and it brought me here to your site. Reading your second paragraph reminds me of the things i told my mother few days ago. She was fortunate enough to be able to attend the graduation ceremony of my younger sister. Over the past few years my family had gone through a lot of things and in the late 90s my family almost fall apart under the weight of transformation taking place. My mother never quit on her faith-she kept going to church even when my father stopped going. Now many years have passed, my family is in a much better situation now. I am writing a post on ‘The Important on Faith’ as a testimony of how my family coped with hardships over the past ten years and where life has lead us now. Check it out on starssparrowandhills when you are free. By the way, my family is planning a grand Thanksgiving Get Together on the 20th of December-as a way to thank the two aunts who had pathed the way for our academic success and to all the family members and most importantly to God who has rewarded us with blessings and wisdom.
December 3, 2008 at 1:40 pm
I could not agree more with you! I think gratitude is very important and my vision is to get 10 million people to express their daily gratitude via a free service I just launched at http://www.GratitudeLog.com. Would love to hear your thoughts.
December 3, 2008 at 6:08 pm
@Stars… – Thank you for stopping by my blog. Your story sounds like one for which you have much to be grateful. I agree faith plays a major part in gratitude; they go hand in hand. If we have a grateful attitude our faith strengthens. If we have more faith, our reasons to be grateful increase.
@Mike – I think you’re on to something here. The act of getting in the habit of expressing gratitude daily will change our lives. I have been keeping a gratitude journal for more than a year; it helps me to focus on all the wonderful things in my life.
December 3, 2008 at 8:37 pm
Michael —
Thanks for popping in at my site.
Yes, gratitude is a transformative agent. I think that to do as much as I can do — as much as any of us can do — to help encourage that understanding, the better off all of us will be.
Appreciate your work here.
All the best,
Daniel
December 24, 2008 at 5:34 am
Why this web site do not have other languages support?