Episode 13 – Benefits Of Expressing Gratitude And Saying Thank You

Todd Bertsch: 0:08

Welcome back to the BOLT Podcast. I’m Todd B, your guide on this exciting journey of personal growth and leadership, where my guests and I will share personal stories from our transformational journeys of how small changes can lead to massive results. You’ll discover tips on overcoming obstacles, setting and achieving goals, building lasting habits, living a happy, healthy and positive life, and so much more. If you’re ready to cultivate a growth mindset and become the best version of yourself, then let’s ignite your growth. Today, as we head into the Thanksgiving holiday, we’re diving into something simple yet powerful expressing gratitude and the impact of saying thank you. Look, gratitude is more than just being polite. It can improve your relationships, boost your mood and even enhance your health. So stick with me. Here. We’ll explore how to make it a daily habit, why it’s essential during tough times and practical ways to express it. So, first off, let me just start by saying thank you. I have so much gratitude for everybody who’s given this show a listen. I appreciate you. Thank you so much. So let’s get on with the show. So let’s start off with some of the basics. At its core, gratitude is when you feel thankful for the good things in your life. I think we all know this, but it’s a great reminder. At its essence, gratitude is a heartfelt acknowledgement of the kindness, generosity or support extended by others. This could be stuff that people often take for granted, like having a place to live, food, clean water, friends and family. Gratitude is taking a moment to reflect on how lucky you are when something good happens, whether it’s small or big. So I want you to do me a favor right now. I want you to take a moment and think about the things you are grateful for. We all have something to be grateful for. You are alive, You’re breathing right. Each breath is a gift. I’m super grateful for you listening to this podcast, Thank you. See how easy that is? It only takes a second. So when things are going well in our lives, it can be relatively easy to express gratitude on a daily basis, though many people still forget to express it. However, when things are not going so well, expressing gratitude can be more of a challenge. This is where people really get hung up.

Todd Bertsch: 3:00

I love John Maxwell. He talks about having an attitude of gratitude. How powerful is that and how important it is to learn to express gratitude, whether you feel grateful or not, To get you in the mindset of gratitude on a regular basis. You need to make this a habit. You need to make this a habit and, like any habit, you start small and prayer, and I reflect on what I’m grateful for. I start with the basics my health, my loved ones, my work, friends, my network, all of my relationships. I also keep a gratitude journal where I jot down at least three things that I’m grateful for every day. Three things that I’m grateful for every day. These routines set a positive tone and keep me grounded, no matter how hectic the day gets. Expressing gratitude has really helped me stay mindful and appreciate the small moments in my life, and it will help you as well.

Todd Bertsch: 4:22

So start off with a gratitude journal. This is a great way to start and end your day. Only takes five minutes and then do some light meditation. This doesn’t have to be crazy. Just take a moment and be quiet and just listen to your thoughts, Listen to nature, whatever makes you feel good. But each morning, try to integrate some of this into your routine.

Todd Bertsch: 4:49

I start off with two to three minutes of gratitude practice in my meditation practice and next I express out loud what I’m grateful for. These two simple practices will set the tone for your day and get you in a great mindset, full of positivity and happiness. When you’re in a positive mindset, that puts you in a place of gratitude, Be happy for what you have and what you don’t have. Gratitude is really one of the main keys to a happy and fulfilling life. You’ll hear this mentioned in most podcasts and mentioned in most self-improvement books. It’s the real deal. That’s why it’s all about taking a moment to pause, reflect. This is where people struggle. In the haste of our busy schedules, we forget or neglect this practice because you know it’s not a habit yet and we’re busy and we just go through the day. So I want to share this quote with you by Norman Vincent Peale. It says the more you practice the art of thankfulness, the more you have to be thankful for. Norman was an author best known for the concept of positive thinking, so I think he knows what he’s talking about here. When you are grateful, you don’t have room for negativity. You appreciate the things you have, not the things you don’t have. We get so caught up in our society about keeping up with the Joneses, so let’s start with being grateful for what we do have.

Todd Bertsch: 6:24

There are several benefits for expressing gratitude, some of which may surprise you. There are many mental and emotional benefits. Gratitude can boost your happiness by shifting from a negative to a positive. It enhances your overall mood. It can help reduce stress. A grateful mindset decreases stress hormones like cortisol and promotes relaxation. It can also improve resilience. It helps people cope better with challenges and setbacks. It also increases self-esteem. Recognizing the good in life fosters a sense of self-worth. But there’s also physical benefits. It can improve your sleep quality. Practicing gratitude before bed can lead to a more restful sleep. It also supports heart health. Reducing stress through gratitude benefits our cardiovascular health and it helps strengthen our immune system. Positive emotions from gratitude can boost your overall immune system and there’s a spiritual growth, fosters mindfulness.

Todd Bertsch: 7:39

Gratitude keeps you present and aware of life’s blessings and increases contentment. Appreciating again what you have reduces feelings of lack or envy. Gratitude is a powerful practice that transforms how we perceive and interact with the world, making life richer and more fulfilling. So here’s another quote I want to share with you by Deepak Chopra, the mindfulness master Gratitude opens the door to the power, wisdom and creativity of the universe. You open the door through gratitude. Now, that’s how you start and end your day.

Todd Bertsch: 8:27

So let’s run through some different ways to express gratitude. One is you can send a thank you card. I love getting thank you cards in the mail. It’s like this pleasant surprise, right. I got one a few weeks ago from somebody that I met at an event. I wasn’t expecting it. He just said, hey, great, running into you, Hope you have a great day. I was like I love this. Thank you cards are so powerful, yet not many people take advantage of it.

Todd Bertsch: 8:57

You can also give a gratitude gift. Doesn’t need to be expensive or elaborate, Just a little something to tell somebody you appreciate them. Or your loved one, your spouse or your partner, Just giving them a chocolate bar, Heck even writing them a sticky note and putting it on the driver’s wheel of their car or in their purse Just a great way to start the day. Or you could also text someone who made a big impact on your life and just say hey, man, you know what I was thinking about you. Thank you for everything you’ve done for me. I appreciate you. Like these things. Texting takes five seconds, it’s so easy. And there’s also random acts of kindness. Help a stranger out, somebody you don’t know, Open the door, Help somebody out, and you can also volunteer at a local non-profit or charity. All nonprofits need help.

Todd Bertsch: 10:00

And last, this is where saying thank you comes into play. This is quite possibly the simplest form of expressing gratitude. Please and thank you are one of the first forms of proper etiquette we learn from our parents. I mean, this may seem like a no-brainer, but so many people miss out on these opportunities. Marshall Goldsmith, the world’s leading executive coach, devoted an entire chapter to the importance of saying thank you In his book. What Got you here Won’t Get you there. Over his many years of coaching thousands of top global leaders get you there. Over his many years of coaching thousands of top global leaders, he recognized this is a workplace habit that many leaders needed to work on. So, yes, this is a serious topic and one we should not take for granted.

Todd Bertsch: 10:51

These two small words, thank you, hold immeasurable power. Yet why do some people struggle with these two simple words? I just don’t get it. According to research, the average person says thank you six times a day. Are you one of those people? Is six times even enough? It’s become so easy. Several of the tools we use every day have automated suggestions built and ready for us, like in Microsoft Teams and Outlook, they all now have an auto-response for replying like thanks for the update.

Todd Bertsch: 11:29

Thank you, Thanks for letting me know Like literally, there is no excuse not to say thank you, the most simplest form of showing gratitude. This works because it expresses one of our most basic emotions gratitude. When someone does something for you, they would love to see you express gratitude. When someone does something for you, they would love to see you express gratitude, Though this should not be the reason we express gratitude, but it’s always nice, right? So here’s some examples how you can incorporate this into your daily life.

Todd Bertsch: 12:02

So my wife takes out the trash every week. She gets home from work earlier than I do and the trash needs to go out that night, Because when I pull in the trash, cans are right there. So she just makes it easier on me and it’s something she does. I could go throughout each week and not acknowledge this, but instead every week I come home I say, hey, babe, thank you for taking out the trash. I really appreciate it. I don’t take it for granted. Thank you for taking out the trash, I really appreciate it. I don’t take it for granted. The same goes for other basic household tasks, like doing the dishes or folding the laundry or raking the leaves, mowing the lawn. Like you know, these are all things we do every week and we just take it for granted. But for our spouses or our partners, just take a moment to say, hey, thank you. You know, I appreciate that. Thanks for doing that. These are simple but effective and they only take a second. But you need to make these conditioned habits.

Todd Bertsch: 13:06

So, like anything else, maintaining gratitude also comes with a few challenges. Consistency is a tough one. This can be tough to make it a daily habit, especially during busy or stressful times. But remember, start small and build up that momentum until it finally becomes just innate, something that you just do. It becomes habit. There’s also this negativity bias. Unfortunately, our brains naturally focus on problems and challenges, making it hard to see the positives, Like oh, why do you do that? But we can learn to shift our mindset from a negative to a positive through practice and retraining our brain. There’s also the routine fatigue.

Todd Bertsch: 13:53

Gratitude practices can start to feel repetitive, losing their impact over time, and I’ve experienced this. So what I do is I mix it up, I mix up the order. So every day, like I said, I have a gratitude practice in my meditation. I say thank you. I’m grateful for my health, my life, each breath, my wife, my kids, all the people in my life. So I’ll mix it up. I’ll start from the end and go to the beginning. It’s just something as simple as that. Just makes it a little bit different, right? Just mixes it up just enough that it doesn’t seem so repetitive. But for gratitude, you know to be repetitive. Like, those are the things that are important to you, that’s what you’re grateful for. So there’s really nothing wrong with that. You got to just stick with it. That you got to just stick with it. So, on top of all these personal benefits, there’s a ton of professional benefits.

Todd Bertsch: 14:56

Expressing gratitude and saying thank you not only benefits individuals, but also has the power to really help shape the culture of organizations. Gratitude enhances leadership by fostering this positive environment where team members feel appreciated and valued. Leaders who express gratitude build stronger relationships. They can help boost the morale and encourage open communication. This creates a culture of trust and respect, leading to higher employee engagement, creativity and more collaboration. So by acknowledging contributions, leaders not only inspire loyalty, but also help their teams stay motivated, especially during challenging times. When gratitude becomes this valued norm, it fosters a supportive and inclusive environment where individuals feel appreciated and valued. So there’s some data 53% of Americans say they would stay longer at their current employer if they just felt more appreciated.

Todd Bertsch: 16:09

Wow, Half the people. There’s the data right there, guys, it all starts with leadership. It’s a top-down method, right? You have the ability. If you’re a leader in your organization, you have the ability to set the tone for your business. I’ve seen this firsthand. It’s powerful and it works. In my marketing business, we are huge advocates of expressing gratitude. Our inbox and our team chats are just littered with thank yous. Look, people want to feel valued and appreciated.

Todd Bertsch: 16:41

Saying thank you is a great and easy first step. Or even go a step further and give one of your colleagues or your employees or one of your peers a shout out. They love that stuff. It’s also a form of respect which helps build trust and is the key to any great relationship, right? Whether it be at home, a personal relationship or work. So who would you rather surround yourself with or work with? Who would you rather help in time of need or on a project or on a task? Someone that expresses gratitude or someone who doesn’t? I think it’s pretty simple the answer.

Todd Bertsch: 17:24

Let’s play a little game here, called the thank you game. Are you up for it? Up for a little gratitude challenge? So try out this simple game. Get a friend or a colleague or your partner or spouse and, as you go throughout the day, keep track of how many times you express gratitude or how many times you say thank you. Then compare with your friends. How will you score? You might be surprised. It might be time to amp up your gratitude game.

Todd Bertsch: 17:57

So, in summary, thank you so much for listening to this episode. See what I did there. By understanding the profound influence of gratitude and incorporating it into our daily lives, we can foster stronger relationships, enhance our well-being and create a culture of positivity that uplifts the people in our life. Look, our lives are busy. We are always moving too fast. But if we slow down? But if we slow down, if we pause, if we reflect, it’s much easier to express gratitude.

Todd Bertsch: 18:35

I challenge you to embrace the transformative power of expressing gratitude as a guiding principle in your life. Trust me, this is one of the best things you could possibly do. That will set the tone for your day, your week, your year. Thank you for listening. Thank you so much for listening to this episode. You are on your way to growth, transformation and joy. If you find this episode helpful, please like and share with your friends and, by all means, please leave us a review.