3 Reasons to Practice Gratitude in Your Career

When you have had a hard day at work or have not received a promotion, it can be hard to feel grateful. However, gratitude is essential to having a happy and healthy life and career. But what you are gaining from each work experience is more than just a paycheck. Yes, the money is nice, but there are even more important things that your job is giving you.

Here are three insights you gain by having gratitude:

You Learn About Yourself

No matter what kind of experience you are having, it is an opportunity to learn. These are not just skills that you can use later in life. The learning gives you invaluable knowledge that provides you with perceptions about yourself, such as:

• Which responsibilities and tasks do I like? Which ones do I not like?
• What is the best work environment for me?
• What kinds of leadership will resonate with me?
• Which tasks and responsibilities do I enjoy? Which ones do I despise?

It is essential to be grateful for that knowledge. Anytime you are working in a new career or job, you learn what works for you and what does not work. Learning is a great way to understand who you are and what you have to offer at work.

You Build Up Your Set of Skills

Learning new skills is essential to advance in your work environment. Along with gathering information about your preferences and values, you will also add new skills. Every position that you take will offer big and small responsibilities to put on your resume, increasing your value as an employee.

Even those jobs that feel as though suck out your soul will help you refine critical competencies, such as becoming more resilient or working with more complicated people.

Therefore, you want to take some time to appreciate the role you are doing. Even if it is not your dream job, it is helping you lay the groundwork for your future career path.

You Make Very Valuable Connections

One of the most beneficial assets that you can have is your network. It is something that you should work on building throughout your career.

Your coworkers, bosses, clients, vendors, etc. – these are all people who should be part of your network. They add value to your network list, as you might be able to call on to help you with some references, job shadowing, informational interviews, advice, introductions, and more.

You should evaluate your career based on your achievements and responsibilities and on the relationships you have cultivated in your network.

It is essential to use your network connections when you are looking for a new job. You must keep your network fresh and stay engaged with your connections continually. It is important so when you ask them to assist you in finding a new job, they are ready.

As you can see, every job that you have had has brought you to this point. You have learned about yourself, and you have learned skills that can help you get further in life. Yes, it may have been a tough road. But think about the most challenging job that you ever had. And then think to yourself, what did I learn from it? If you sit down with a piece of paper, the chances are that you can list several skills you learned from that job.

Pretty impressive! Practicing gratitude in your daily life and career is essential to give you an appreciation of what you have done and learned, and the direction in which you are heading. Take time each day for a few minutes to be thankful for what you have, where you are, and who you are.