Healthy leaders cultivate the habit of thankfulness. Here’s 8 reasons why:
1. Thankfulness opens my perspective.
It’s easy to complain and criticize because it doesn’t require effort or intelligence.
Good leaders live in reality, but they don’t fixate on the problems. Negativity isn’t a leader’s friend. No one has ever grumbled their way into a better influence.
Thankfulness shifts our focus to the blessings and opportunities we’ve received from God. In difficult times, look for something to be thankful for, even if it’s really, really small. This will open your eyes to other reasons to be thankful and lift your soul.
2. Thankfulness deepens my humility.
Every good thing is a gift from God. Entitlement is often the dark shadow that follows success. The more we do great things, the easier it is to believe we have achieved on our own, without help from God. Let us do great things, with thankfulness, so that we can maintain our humble dependence on God.
3. Thankfulness expands my faith.
Gratitude recognizes the past work of God in our lives. When we remember God’s faithfulness, we position our hearts to trust him to provide in the future. God has given us everything that we’ve needed, and he will continue to give us what we need. Developing the habit of being thankful also creates within us the capacity to trust God during difficult times.
4. Thankfulness transforms discouragement into joy.
There’s a lot of pain in this world, and sometimes its ugliness is overpowering and overwhelming. Thankfulness doesn’t deny the difficult seasons, but it does open the door for joy to enter the picture. Lasting joy is a promise the world makes but can’t deliver. When we remain in Christ through thankfulness, his joy is a gift for every believer.
5. Thankfulness rearranges my priorities.
Many leaders move at such a fast pace that their priorities get out of whack. It’s easy to “major on the minors.” We can easily slip into a selfish mode of living, becoming impatient or easily irritated. A grateful heart is open to God’s work in our lives. Being thankful helps us understand what’s really important in the grand scheme of things… beyond the busyness of the moment.
6. Thankfulness challenges our “needs.”
The closer we grow to Jesus, the more we realize that many of our “needs” are really “wants.” It’s not fun to admit this! Thankfulness turns our hearts into a fertile soil for contentment to grow into full bloom. Learning to be content in every situation is a measure of spiritual maturity, and comes when we learn to be thankful for God’s gifts. The power of “I WANT” is weakened in the light of “I’M THANKFUL.”
7. Thankfulness keeps me from envy.
When our desires run wild and unchecked, but aren’t satisfied, the result is envy. Few things can steal our peace like envy. Envy hungers to possess that which is beyond its reach. Think of the childish tantrum that comes when he’s told he can’t have cake for dinner.
When it gets really bad, envy also destroys community by turning into jealousy. This happens when we lose our capacity to be excited when others experience something we can’t.
When we’re imprisoned by envy and jealousy, the only key to the door is thankfulness. Gratitude leads to contentment for what we do have, and excitement for what others gain.
8. Thankfulness enhances our compassion.
We have a lot to be thankful for—not just materially, but also spiritually. When we are thankful for the spiritual gifts we have in Christ, we can’t help but have greater compassion for those who aren’t in God’s family.
