- [Instructor] This lesson, we'll explore gratitude
and service to others.
Many think of service as volunteer work or service careers.
Service to others is an approach to our work
and the relationships we hold with others in our workplace.
It also refers to the generosity of our hearts
and actions to contribute to the wellbeing of others,
to respond with empathy, and to have gratitude
for the gifts we are able to give and receive.
As you prepare to enter this lesson,
take a moment to prepare yourself
for your study and practice.
Download the study and practice guide,
the PDF associated with this lesson.
Have a pen and paper on hand to take notes
and record your thoughts.
Remove distractions from your environment.
Once you have prepared your study environment,
take a few moments to prepare yourself mentally
to benefit from teachings in gratitude.
Be still, breath.
Take three to five cleansing breaths,
drawing deeply through your nose and slowly exhale
experiencing the opening of your heart
and clearing of your mind.
Pause and reflect on what you are bringing to your study.
What is your understanding of gratitude
in service to others, work and compassion?
What are your questions about gratitude
in service to others, work and compassion?
When you are ready, proceed to enter our exploration
of gratitude in service to others.
In this lesson,
we will explore gratitude in service to others.
The intention of this lesson is to develop understanding
of the concept of gratitude and to appreciate the portals
through which we may experience gratitude.
The lesson is an opportunity to learn
about the place of gratitude in our work
and in the support we give to others.
You will learn about research findings
on the compassionate workplace
and the role of empathy in service to others.
The practice of gratitude will be explored with suggestions
for reflection as well as actions to bring more meaning
to your work with others.
Let us begin with the question.
What is gratitude in service to others?
We do not live our lives in isolation.
We are social and we are all members of our human race.
When we consider our place in service to others,
we must first consider that we belong.
Mother Theresa lived by this wisdom and her words,
"if we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten
that we belong to each other."
It is through service to others
that we become a better person.
Compassionate, generosity and gratitude are linked.
The morality of gratitude is found in the mutual giving
that ties us to one another.
Gratitude is the motive that moves us to give
and return and creates the reciprocity of service.
There are many ways by which we serve others.
There are those charitable and volunteer activities
in which we give of our time, our energies, talents
and resources to create a greater good to help another
in need and contribute to society.
There's also service to others through sacrifice.
There are the men and women of the military, firefighters
and police officers who risk their lives
in guardianship of others.
There are the professions characterized
by the service they perform for the benefit of others,
fields that provide care to others
such as education, healthcare and therapists.
There's a service industry of jobs
with an array of functions
to help others to meet their daily needs and tasks.
Even those who work in technical fields
are providing service in the designs and programming
they develop to make others' lives better.
Work is a form of service.
Some might argue that because work provides the worker
with compensation, the services do not stem
from a place of giving and gratitude.
To the contrary, the work that we choose to do stems
from the skills, capabilities, and motivations that we bring
to our choice in the work that we do,
the heart with which we commit to those activities
and appreciation for the good we can create for others.
We can go about our days, performing our tasks
with little regard for how we impact others,
or we can view our work as service.
There is a give and take to our work lives
and daily activities,
but we have to pay attention to recognize
how we are a service to others.
As noted by Anthony Chavez, "to be of service to others,
we have to truly pay attention to individuals
to understand who they are and their situation
as they see it."
Many do not recognize the potential
for their work to be a portal
of gratitude in the service they provide to others.
There are many reasons for this oversight.
Are you working for yourself or for the good you generate
through your work?
Other interferences come from strivings in the workplace.
Work can be a competitive environment
in which we make comparisons of ourselves to others.
We may perceive ourselves as victims
or simply be too overwhelmed with the busy-ness
of life to notice our potential for gratitude and service.
In the book Thanks,
Robert Emmons shares the findings of a study
on comparison thinking.
Participants were asked to write down each day
five things they did not have that they wished they had.
Over time they experienced significantly less gratitude
and joy than others.
In another study, one group finished the sentence,
I wish I was blank.
And the other group was asked to complete the sentence.
I'm glad I'm not blank.
When they rated their life satisfaction
before and after the task, those who completed,
I'm glad I'm not blank were significantly
more satisfied than before.
The studies demonstrated that the types
of comparisons we make can impede gratitude.
If we focus on what others have that we do not
we use the language of scarcity.
We feel resentment and envy,
and we focus on what is lacking.
Our comparisons can deprive us
of the capacity to have gratitude.
To have gratitude requires a sense
of abundance in the moment.
Frustrations in work and relationships can lead
to perceptions of victimhood, finger pointing,
and blame for problems minimizes personal responsibility.
Blaming others prevents gratitude.
It leaves the person mired in resentment
and desires for retaliation.
If energies are consumed with blaming and victimization,
there is no reserve for feelings of gratitude.
Our own lives are busy.
More and more jobs are expecting employees
to do more with less.
Technology of cell phones and social media add to the press
of our days to be responsive to the soundbite of the moment.
Our distractions cause us to ignore others
and to be inattentive to the press of needs in front of us.
As pointed out by Emmons,
gratitude takes time to reflect on blessings.
If daily life is frantic and fragmented
there is no room for gratitude.
The events of people who could evoke gratitude are taken
for granted or ignored.