3 Ways to Fight the Entitlement That Is Fighting Enjoyment
Research has shown that feeling entitled increases feelings of distress and disappointment—but you likely don’t need research to know that. You have experienced it. I have. There was a season when I was traveling for speaking/consulting engagements so frequently that I would be regularly upgraded to first class. Sadly, my heart came to expect the […]
Entitlement Is Fighting Against Enjoyment
Gratitude and entitlement cannot coexist. Parents know this. There are two opposing phrases we often hear when raising kids. We love to hear one and bristle at the other: “Thank you,” and “It’s not fair.” Parents love to hear “Thank you” from a child because it shows the child realizes a gift has been received […]
Research on Why Christians Should Be the Most Grateful People
Robert Emmons is a professor and psychologist at UC Davis who has led multiple research projects on gratitude. For example, he led one study in which people were placed in three groups and asked to write sentences based on their experiences each week. The first group wrote down what they were thankful for The second […]
Where Is Your Thanksgiving Spirit? (13 Reasons to Recapture Gratitude)
In the Book of Galatians, we find the apostle Paul was astonished and unsure of what to do with the Christians who lived in Galatia. At one point, they were overwhelmed with God’s love expressed toward them, but they drifted from grace and were attempting to earn God’s approval by their good works. God’s people […]
God’s Will for You in 2020: Be Thankful
One of the most common questions Christians ask in our modern culture is “What is God’s will for me?” “What career? What city? What car?” “What is His will for me so I will be the happiest I can be?” When we scan the totality of human history, we realize that those types of questions […]
4 Important Leadership Traits From One of the Most Popular Leadership Sayings
One of the most quoted leadership axioms is this gem from Max Depree, a former leader of Herman Miller furniture. DePree famously said: The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality. The last is to say thank you. In between, the leader is both a debtor and a servant. In this one pithy […]
3 Reasons Gratitude Makes Leaders More Effective
Gary Vaynerchuck is a successful entrepreneur, author, and CEO of VaynerMedia. Among marketing professionals, he is known for his skill in social media marketing and brand building in the digital space. He is also known for tireless work ethic. He has frequently pointed to gratitude as his motivation. He wrote: Knowing that I was born […]
2 Indicators You Are Thankful This Thanksgiving
The apostle Paul closed his first letter to Christians living in Thessalonica with these words: “Rejoice always, pray constantly, give thanks in everything; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18). In these verses, we see a close relationship between joy, prayer, and thanksgiving. As one of them rises, so […]
4 Ways Leaders Can Express Gratitude to Those They Manage
Max Depree once said that the best people on your team are really volunteers, no matter if you pay them or not. They are volunteers because they can utilize their skills and talent elsewhere and they choose to utilize them on your team. Which means, of course, that you must lead with much more than […]
Are You Grateful? (Grading Your Gratitude)
Though you may not use the terms, you are familiar with “direct” and “inverse” relationships. In a “direct” relationship, when X rises, Y rises as well. For example, when the number of people visiting a city rises, so does the cost of hotel rooms. When the number of Alabama football victories increases, more bandwagon fans […]