The Power of Thanks

Thanksgiving has passed but the power of gratitude is timeless. As a Health Education Specialist for Swedish, I get the pleasure of working with wonderful patients, clinicians and staff every day. For this I am endlessly thankful. But how often do I express that?

How often do you express thanks to those in your life (coworkers, family, friends, random strangers?) who get you through bad moments, bad days or bad years even? Appreciation never goes out of style and even though the official holiday of thanks has passed, let me use this time to thank you all: blog readers, Facebook followers, patients,  providers and any and everybody that is part of the larger Swedish family.

It is amazing how far a simple phrase like “thank you” can go so why don’t we say it more? Ask yourself this and challenge yourself to find things, people, experiences for which to be thankful every day. And then express that thanks out loud. You may find it cathartic. You may find that you start to hear thank you more often in return. You may find that you bring a smile to someone’s face or brighten an otherwise thankless day. Who knows, gratitude may even improve your health! These are two words, two syllables that can never be said too much.

• Say "thank you" and say it often
• Make a list of everything for which you are grateful - how long can you make the list?
• Practice gratitude;- it doesn’t always come naturally
• Be genuine with your thanks and praise

Now that Thanksgiving has passed, I hope this spirit of gratitude remains with you for the rest of 2012 and on into the New Year.

Thank you for being part of the Swedish family!