Higher Purpose Podcast 101: The Power of Gratitude
In this week’s episode of the Higher Purpose Podcast, Kevin Monroe speaks with Steve Foran. This episode is one that Kevin has been looking forward to - and it’s actually been saved specifically for this week. The next hundred episodes of the Higher Purpose Podcast are going to be grounded in gratitude - and this conversation is going to begin that.
Steve Foran is a gratitude guide. He has a background in electrical engineering and an MBA - but had a revelation that led him to pursue gratitude as a full-time career. He’s written a book called Surviving to Thriving, and Steve talks about how it came to be, after banging around in his head for several years. Kevin notes that the book ended up cracking him wide open, and helped him solidify his goal of making gratitude his focus for the next 100 episodes of the show.
Listen to the full episode
The Hierarchy of Leadership
Steve talks about the 4 primary points on the leadership spectrum. Underlying them all is Influence.
- Surviving is drudgery.
- Striving is hard work.
- Arriving is a good place to be.
- Thriving is where life is like a playground.
Kevin and Steve discuss where you end up spending most of your time because it has a huge impact on how you feel, and what you’re able to accomplish. In other words: when the sh*t hits the fan - lean into gratitude!
One of the unrelenting forces pulling us back down the hierarchy is negative attribution bias - Steve discusses what they are, and the kinds of impacts they have on us physiologically and emotionally. Kevin notes that this is a good reason to keep your gratitude practice consistent!
You Are Worthy and You Have Much to be Grateful For
Gratitude has a profound way of touching each of our lives, and Steve couples it with the concept of worthiness. When you hold onto the belief that you are worthy - the opportunities to thrive and succeed open up for you. Many of us, deep down, don’t feel as if we are - but Steve (and Kevin!) both fundamentally believe that we are - every one of us.
The Benefits of Gratitude
More and more studies are finding there are physical benefits to expressing gratitude. Kevin asks Steve what the implications of gratitude are in business. Steve talks about increases in collaboration, empathy, successful/positive conflict and a general improvement in morale and profitability. It can be as simple as beginning meetings by asking everyone what they are grateful for.
The Gratitude Challenge
As Kevin was preparing this show, he was thinking about creating a short gratitude challenge - Steve’s immediate response was: Yes! The gratitude challenge is open for registration now - so whether or not you’ve had a regular formal gratitude practice, or you’re an old hand - Kevin and Steve invite you to go to Thegratitudechallenge.community. This is a 10-day challenge, with a daily email that will help you think about gratitude that day. Over the course of 10 days, Kevin and Steve both believe you could experience a major change in your life. If you don’t feel like you have a huge amount to be grateful for - this challenge could change that for you.
Kevin reminds us that gratitude may not immediately change anything about the situation, but it changes us and how we perceive and experience the situation. Steve adds that it’s easy to get complacent in your gratitude practice - and this challenge can be a way to re-invigorate it.
Resources
Use the discount code: Higher Purpose Podcast for $5.00CAD off the price of the book.