What’s the real secret to success? According to experts, it’s not working more hours than anyone in the office or going through life without making mistakes. The simple answer is being thankful.
The Benefits of Being Thankful
Here are several significant ways gratitude can enhance your business, career, and overall life.
Thankfulness produces a solution mindset.
According to Entrepreneur.com, it’s easy to get stuck in “complaining mode” when things don’t go your way, and as a result, you are less likely to move forward. Gratitude changes that perspective and fosters the right attitude for seeing solutions rather than obstacles.
Gratitude fuels great leadership.
When you have an attitude of gratitude toward others, you begin to focus more on their strengths than on their weaknesses. This has a profound impact on improving a team’s performance. To be a truly great leader, you must maintain morale, and thankfulness is an excellent tool to do so.
Gratitude increases willpower and financial “patience.”
Harvard Business Review revealed an interesting connection between thankfulness and the ability for people to delay gratification. Successful people understand the value of forgoing smaller pleasures now in order to reap larger gains later. People with a grateful mindset are typically better equipped to exercise delayed gratification, and as a result, made more financial gains.
Putting it into practice.
If you’re not in the habit of expressing thankfulness, there’s good news: gratitude works like a muscle: the more you use it, the stronger it gets.
A great way to get started is to keep a gratitude journal. Research shows that keeping a gratitude journal will help you focus more on the positives in your life and feel more connected to others. A written reminder also makes it easier to remember to share your thankfulness with those who have helped you.
One important caveat: be sincere. Despite the cliché about flattery getting you anywhere, experts say false praise will get you nowhere. Gratitude is about being real.
So when you gather with your team and coworkers this year and consider what you’re grateful for, think about those who make the important things possible, and resolve to thank them year-round.
About Express Employment International
Express Employment International supports the Express Employment Professionals franchise and affiliated brands, including Specialized Recruiting Group and Express Healthcare Staffing. The Express franchise brand is an industry-leading, international staffing company with franchise locations in the U.S., Canada, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand.
Last Updated on October 27, 2025
