While the fourth-quarter push to achieve year-end goals is top of mind for business professionals, the holidays have a way of reminding us to slow down, take stock of our surroundings, be thankful and acknowledge others. That’s what an attitude of gratitude is all about.
The expression of gratitude represents a win-win experience for the giver and the receiver. For the receiver, its positive impact makes them feel important, appreciated and valued. For the giver, it creates positive emotions and brings about more feelings of joy and optimism. It’s like “paying it forward.” When all is said and done, the benefits of expressing gratitude—building rapport, deepening relationships and facilitating trust—represent the gift that keeps on giving. This applies both in the personal and business world.
As Thanksgiving Day approaches, we’ve collected some of our favorite quotes about gratitude to share with you. Pick the ones that resonate with you and use them to create and share your attitude of gratitude with colleagues, vendors, stakeholders, friends and family.
Gratitude Quotes
“Reflect upon your present blessings, of which every man has plenty; not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some.”
—Charles Dickens
“Be present in all things and thankful for all.”
—Maya Angelou
“To speak gratitude is courteous and pleasant, to enact gratitude is generous and noble, but to live gratitude is to touch Heaven.”
—Johannes A. Gaertner
“Gratitude is the inward feeling of kindness received. Thankfulness is the natural impulse to express that feeling. Thanksgiving is the following of that impulse.”
—Henry Van Dyke
“Give thanks for a little, and you will find a lot.”
—Hausa Proverb
“Thanksgiving was never meant to be shut up in a single day.”
—Robert Caspar Lintner
“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow.”
—Melody Beattie
“When we give cheerfully and accept gratefully, everyone is blessed.”
—Maya Angelou
“I would rather be able to appreciate things I cannot have than to have things I am not able to appreciate.”
—Elbert Hubbard
“It is not joy that makes us grateful; it is gratitude that makes us joyful.”
—David Steindl-Rast
“Let us remember that, as much has been given us, much will be expected from us, and that true homage comes from the heart as well as from the lips, and shows itself in deeds.”
—Theodore Roosevelt
“As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.”
—John F. Kennedy
“Thanksgiving Day comes, by statute, once a year; to the honest man it comes as frequently as the heart of gratitude will allow.”
—Edward Sandford Martin
“No one has ever become poor by giving.”
—Anne Frank
“There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other as is though everything is a miracle.”
—Albert Einstein
Embrace an Attitude of Gratitude
While the holiday season helps us to focus on gratitude, many of these quotes remind us to incorporate gratefulness into our lives year-round. In the end, gratitude is a fundamental human emotion for the success of our society. The best part? It costs nothing to say “thank you.” When you adopt and express gratitude in your everyday life, watch how it benefits those around you and creates a ripple effect. From sending a thank-you note or simply telling others why you are grateful for them, it’s easy to find ways to show gratitude every day.
