03/11/2026
This morning, while preparing for my session tomorrow with , I decided to do a bit of research on the word gratitude.
Interestingly enough, some of the earliest recorded uses of the term date back to around 1565.
The more I dug into its history, the more something stood out to me.
Despite the word being around for centuries, actively practicing gratitude is still something many people find challenging to do consistently.
There are many reasons for that.
Tomorrow, during my session, I’ll ask ALL participants to reflect on the different reasons they might not express gratitude in their lives.
Having done this exercise hundreds of times with groups across different organizations, I’m always fascinated by the responses.
“Not enough time.”
“Fear of being vulnerable.”
“Lack of awareness.”
“Minimizing the act.”
“It won’t feel genuine.”
All valid reasons.
All very human.
What’s equally fascinating to me, though, is how powerful the conversation becomes once people pause long enough to think about gratitude intentionally.
What I have found through these conversations is that it is not that people don’t value it, they just haven’t made space for it.
One way to keep a 450+ year-old word alive is by practicing it a little more often in our daily lives.
Starting tomorrow at 5:30 PM CST [https://lnkd.in/e4vp6hAQ]
