We should all be so fortunate to live a life like Loretta Taggart. Back in 2015, at 100 years of age, she reached a milestone – 15 years as a twice-weekly exercise instructor in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Doing the math, that means she started her career at 85 years of age
When asked to what she attributes her long life, Ms. Taggart told USA today that it’s “moderation, attitude, gratitude … that’s it.” That, and not letting her hair go gray.
She has a point. Gratitude works wonders for the human psyche, according to scientists at the University of California, Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center.
In fact, studies show that being grateful makes us happier and happiness leads to greater success
Yeah, I know. I, too, always thought it was the other way around – that we’ll be happy when we’re successful. But, according to studies at Berkeley, being grateful is the key to both happiness and success.
If getting to the top of the real estate food chain in your market is among your goals for 2019, start counting your blessings.
Success won’t make you happy but being happy will make you successful
“Chronically happy people are in general more successful personally and professionally. But in many cases, it is the happiness that came first,” says Sonja Lyubomirsky, a professor of psychology at the University of California, Riverside.
She has, in fact, spent the majority of her career studying happiness.
But, it’s back to the University of California, Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center to figure out how we can become happier. It turns out that Taggart, the centenarian exercise instructor, was right: it’s an attitude of gratitude that will lead us to a more cheerful disposition.
From gratitude to happiness to success
Among other positive attributes, gratitude “creates patience,” according to Geoffrey James, contributing editor at Inc.com, citing a study published in the journal of the Association for Psychological Science.
Many of us are all too familiar with impatience — that inability to resist immediate gratification, leading to overspending, overeating, smoking and other addictions. Or, in real estate, overt sales tactics, desperate home pricing strategies and the tendency to cut corners in marketing our businesses.
Reach out to the people that matter to you with Social Share – part of every LeadSite. Learn more
The study grouped respondents according to how they were feeling: grateful, happy and neutral. Happy and neutral folks went right for the instant gratification while those feeling grateful were far more likely to exhibit patience.
“What’s more, the degree of patience exhibited was directly related to the amount of gratitude any individual felt,” James said. He also reminds us that, in business, “patience is extraordinarily valuable.”
So, how do you get this magic grateful sauce?
It may seem trite but count your blessings every day. In fact, consider starting a gratitude journal and keep track of your blessings once or twice a week.
Research shows that “people who wrote in their gratitude journals once a week for six weeks reported boosts in happiness afterward; people who wrote three times a week didn’t,” according to Lyubomirsky.
Her team recommends going into detail about something you’re feeling grateful for, rather than constructing a list of items, as well as the following tips:
- List people to whom you are grateful, not things or events.
- Consider what your life would be like without these blessings.
- Surprises “tend to elicit stronger levels of gratitude,” according to the authors of “Gratitude and Generosity: Two Keys to Success and Happiness.”
Keeping track of “the many gifts, big and small,” that happen in our lives can yield overwhelming results, according to Robert Emmons, professor of psychology at the University of California, Davis.
What sorts of things might you be grateful for? A new client, a particularly helpful colleague, a transaction coordinator that goes above and beyond, a referral, a smile from a stranger or your child’s laughter.
There’s an app for that
Unless you like the feel of a pen in your hand, you don’t have to go old school with your gratitude journal. There are a number of apps that make it even easier to help you get the “G” attitude.
Android apps include:
There are many more. Look on the right sidebar when you’re checking out any in the list and you’ll find more.
iPhone apps include:
So, what are you grateful for today?
Save time to focus on the positives – Leave your online presence to LeadSites. See how a LeadSite can work for you.
At Easy Agent PRO, we’re grateful for all of our amazing clients that we work with every day. Join the conversation in our Facebook group.
How often do you need to blog to stay relevant online? In this video, we answer that age-old question:
The post What are you grateful for today? appeared first on Easy Agent Pro.
from theokbrowne digest https://www.easyagentpro.com/blog/gratitude/
No comments:
Post a Comment