How often do you feel underappreciated? If you’re like most people, it’s a common feeling … and a crappy one. It may be hard to convince other people to appreciate you more … but it only takes a minute to express gratitude and appreciation for someone else, with positive impacts all around.

Data point of the week
The Oxford Dictionary defines gratitude as “the quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness.” It of the most well-researched practices in positive psychology.

Benefit 1: Receiving appreciation from others increase job satisfaction. According to research by Gallup, receiving recognition/recognition of value within the last 7 days is one of the top 12 factors that contribute to job satisfaction and engagement.

Benefit 2: Gratitude and appreciation boost happiness. Getting into a habit of noticing what you’re grateful for and expressing appreciation is one of the surest—and simplest—ways to increase your happiness.

Benefit 3: Gratitude reduces depression. A meta-analysis of 62 studies on the link between gratitude and depression found:

“a robust connection between higher levels of gratitude and lower levels of depression … The association provides a reason to explore further the effects of gratitude-focused interventions as a method to alleviate depression and to prevent the development of depression.”

Reflection
Expressing gratitude for the people in our lives isn’t just great for mental health and job satisfaction, it also strengthens relationships. So why don’t we do it more often?

It’s easy to get caught up in the day-to-day, and simply not make the time to break out of our routine and express appreciation. It can also feel vulnerable—or mushy—to share feelings of gratitude.

That’s why it can be helpful to provide a reason or excuse to share positive sentiments. When I’ve offered the gratitude card-writing party (described below) it has generated lots of positive energy and gotten great feedback (this activity is also done in session 4 of the ProjectConnect program). 

Action Step: Express appreciation
A few ideas for expressing appreciation to others:

• Host a gratitude event. Order some snacks, a bunch of boxes of Appreciation Stationery, put on some good music, and have a card-writing party. This event can be offered around Thanksgiving or anytime during the year.

• Hold a gratitude challenge. You can do this on your own, with a group, or organization wide. Pick the length of the challenge (1-3 weeks), and express gratitude to one person per day.  

• Reflect on how to turn appreciation into a regular practice. Gallup’s research shows that receiving recognition regularly is more important than a yearly review or annual appreciation event. For example, can you dedicate a few minutes to appreciation at the start of a weekly meeting?
  

Questions (Please share in the comments):
Do you receive recognition and appreciation as much as you would like?
What holds you back from expressing appreciation more often?