I’ve always said Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. Why? It’s one of the few holidays not based on giving or receiving anything, but based on being grateful for what you already have. An attitude of gratitude is extremely powerful, in our personal lives as well as our business lives. Gratitude goes beyond just appreciating something to acknowledging the many things around you that are worthy of your recognition.

The power of acknowledging what we are thankful for is incredible and helps reduce stress, enables us to face challenges better, and improves our relationships with others. If you pay attention, there are numerous opportunities to acknowledge your gratitude every day. All over Facebook, many people are making a specific comment of thankfulness each day throughout November. This is an important activity, not only for their own well being, but for those around them. But the acknowledgement doesn’t have to be public. Some people keep a gratitude journal, or routinely write notes of appreciation. A quick and easy way to acknowledge gratitude is to speak it sincerely, to those who should be hearing it, or even to yourself!

Though not everyone will admit to wanting recognition, most people truly like it. Employee satisfaction surveys indicate that American workers crave recognition in the workplace. A sense of being appreciated helps employees be more productive, improves performance, and even encourages better service to customers. Organizations with effective reward and recognition programs report increased retention, job satisfaction, and overall performance. It’s important to encourage a culture of recognition that is not only manager to employee, but peer to peer, employee to customer, and customer to employee. It doesn’t matter what direction the gratitude is coming from, the important thing is that it’s flowing!

So express your gratitude today! Ponder it, speak it, write it, or display it…the important thing is that you acknowledge it.  Happy Thanksgiving!

“Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.” — William Arthur Ward