An attitude of gratitude isn’t always just about a daily practice of listing what you’re thankful for.  It runs much deeper than that in society.  To add value to others wherever you go.

‘Be a rainbow in someone else’s cloud’ ~ Maya Angelou a famous poet and author has often been quoted to encourage others to make a positive contribution to their surroundings. Random acts of kindness go a long way in society today where more and more we have artificial intelligence and robots helping us do daily tasks, but these are void of the human factors and empathy.  

Sharing your smile with others has been known as the ‘smile factor’ ~ what’s your smile factor today? Research shows that encouraging children to be kind has a positive influence on their academic, social and wellbeing outcomes including increased self-esteem, motivation to learn and resilience to overcome obstacles.

I’ve put together a list of five ways you can spread your attitude with gratitude:

💫 Random Acts of Kindness

It’s the little things that make people feel special… opening a door, giving up your seat to an elder, helping a stressed parent, or buying the person behind you a coffee.

Starbucks started this many years ago ‘pay to forward’ each person paid for the order of the person behind them in the drive through.  One person started it and it went on for hours…. It made the local news and made many people feel special.  

This random act of kindness was a micro moment that added value to someone’s day by making them feel valued and appreciated… even though they didn’t know the person, the recipient in return kept the cycle going because the act made them feel good to receive so they wanted to give… it made them feel good to do something nice to another person.

💫 The Smile Factor

I was listening to podcast the other day and the guest was a CEO being interviewed about leadership and maintaining a positive and productive team.  He talked about the smile factor.  Sharing his smile with others.  Leaving impatience and judgement behind and remembering what he was grateful for helped to keep a smile on his face through the rollercoaster of being a business executive.  This helped him lead with a smile which spread amongst those he encountered throughout the day.

💫 Passion and Purpose 

With my Ikigai coaching approach, the focus is about passion, purpose, and prosperity.  Ensuring the happiness comes from within because our entrepreneurs and executives are fulfilled both personally and professionally.

This may sound unattainable but we all create our own opportunities and can design our destiny which results in our personal happiness.

✨ What do you enjoy doing (your passion)

✨ What are you good at (your vocation)

✨ What does your community need (your mission)

✨ What can you be paid for (your profession)

Ikigai originates from Japan and refers to the happiness and wellbeing we feel when leading a fulfilling and meaningful life. It promotes continuous evolution and growth encouraging individuals to explore their talents, values and enjoyment further helping them to understand what their passion and purpose to bring prosperity.

💫 Support Small

I’m currently studying my mini MBA at Harvard Business School and in a recent module we looked at three business models - start up, fortune 10 (cooperate) and non-profit.

The start up was founded by a local lady in her hometown sharing her passion and purpose with her community.  The other local business was a third generation family business.  Both of these would not be successful without the support of their local communities.  

I’m grateful for my local community whom supported my beauty salons for twenty five years.  Without people supporting local and individual businesses they wouldn’t be able to survive or thrive in the current climate.

Whether you’re shopping local in your hometown or on holiday - remember to look for local businesses to support and showcase their cuisine, culture, or couture.

💫 Community Connection

Giving back, philanthropy… an attitude of gratitude whether it’s an hour, a day or a week, by giving your time you are making a difference and adding value.  Find a charity that you connect with and support through gifting time, monetary or other resources.

A common thread throughout all of our executives and entrepreneurs that are successful it gratitude. Staying grounded through faith, through giving and through gratitude.  Some say the higher you rise that further you fall, but my experience is that the higher you rise the more generous and grateful people become.

Remember to be add value, to listen, to give to others and to make an impact.

Thank you for reading, if this was useful please 🩷 and if it could help someone in your network, please share.

Thank you ~ Diana x