Gratitude

Rob Hope posted a nice note on Motivation. I fall on and off the wagon with what he’s mentioned in point 1 and 2 too much. I’m not doing enough of either of those items regularly right now. I need to get back on track with those.

One of the other ways I find great personal motivation is sending a “thank you” note to people who are doing work I admire.

I’m Grateful

I have a great deal of respect for the independent technical & creative folks out there. I aspire to be a part timer in that space myself. I am inspired by the work of people who are working on their own terms and ideas. The good things they are putting out into the world show me that there are endless ideas.

I’m grateful to them for showing what they’ve worked on, and when they discuss how they do their thing, I eat that up too. I try not to Compare their Backstage to my onstage, and It’s so uplifting and inspiring to see others succeed.

So I tend to send a brief email or DM. Really nothing more than a “I like your work, and that thing you did with X really helped me do Y, thanks, have a great day”. More often than not, I don’t get a reply. But that’s not the point. It’s not about counting ‘Likes’ or ‘Followers’. It’s about expressing appreciation for someones hard work.

Maybe they never read it. Maybe they did and didn’t have the time or inclination to reply. This isn’t something you can control. You can send these type of notes, and it uplifts you. Something about writing my feelings down really helps me express them better.

Science

There’s all kinds of science around the act of expressing gratitude.

My reading indicates that expressing gratitude makes people stronger mentally and physically.

Maybe the Beastie Boys said it best:

Good times gone but you feed it
Hate’s grown strong, you feel you need it
Just one thing, do you know you?
What you think, that the world owes you?
What’s gonna set you free?
Look inside and you’ll see
When you’ve got so much to say it’s called gratitude
And that’s right

I am grateful that you took the time to read this.