20 Quotes to Inspire Gratitude Year-Round, Not Just on Thanksgiving

"In a world where you can be anything, be kind." - Connie Schultz

Last year at Thanksgiving, our family went around the table to share highlights of the year and to express examples of kindness we were grateful for. It was such an uplifting conversation, my son said, "Why do we only do this once a year?"

Good question!

Why is there only one designated day a year we're supposed to think about all the things we're thankful for? Why not share examples of kindness and gratitude at every gathering?

Why not start your next virtual meeting with each person giving a word of thanks for something they're grateful for that has helped them cope with the challenges we're facing?

This isn't being a Pollyanna. This is acknowledging that the only thing we can control is our attitude. And when we choose to focus on what's right - or what we're doing to try to create more right - it sets a positive precedent that inspires others to do the same.

When is your next online staff meeting or conference? You might want to share these quotes in advance to spark food for thought. Then, in your first breakout room, ask people to "go around" and share 1 minute of "What I'm grateful for ..." What's keeping them going? What's an example of someone's kindness? What's a mantra that gives them perspective?

That's not an indulgence, it's an investment in choosing what you pay attention to. As Jose Ortega d Gasset said, "Tell me to what you pay attention, and I will tell you who you are."

25 Quotes on Being Kind and Being Grateful - No Matter What

1."Be thankful for what you have; you'll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don't have, you will never have enough." - Oprah Winfrey

2. “Make yourself a blessing to someone. Your kind smile or pat on the back just might pull someone back from the edge.” – Carmelia Elliott

3. “Whenever you create beauty around you, you restore your own soul." - Alice Walker

4. “If the only prayer you ever said was ‘Thank you,’ that would be enough.” – Meister Ekhart

5. “Look at everything as though you were seeing it for the first or last time. Then your time on earth will be filled with glory.” – Betty Smith

6. “Be thankful for what you have; you'll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don't have, you will never have enough." - Oprah Winfrey

7. “How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before beginning to improve the world." - Anne Frank

8. “When you give and carry out acts of kindness you get a wonderful feeling. It is as though something inside your body responds and says, ‘Yes, this is how I ought to feel.'” – Rabbi Harold Kushner

9. “Find the good. It's all around you. Showcase it and you’ll start believing in it.” - Jesse Owens

10. “Most of us are about as happy as we make up our minds to be." - Abraham Lincoln

11.“What a wonderful life I’ve had! I only wish I’d realized it sooner.” – Colette

12. “"Gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder." - G. K. Chesterton

13. “Unless people like you care a whole lot, things aren’t going to get better, they’re not!” – Dr. Seuss, The Lorax

 14. In Thornton Wilder’s play Our Town, Emily longs to revisit one ordinary, “unimportant” day. When she gets her wish, she realizes how much she took for granted. “I didn’t realize all that was going on and we never noticed. Good-bye Mama, Papa, sunflowers, food and coffee, hot baths, sleeping and waking up. Oh, earth, you're too wonderful for anybody to realize you.”

15. “As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.” - John F. Kennedy

16. "May our choices be based on our hopes and not our fears.” Nelson Mandela

17. "The best way to pay for a lovely moment is to enjoy it." - Richard Bach

18. "The point is not to pay back kindness, but to pass it on." - Julia Alvarez

19. "A life is not important except in the impact it has on others." - Jackie Robinson

20. "“When you drink the water, remember the well.” – Chinese proverb

21. “Hope and fear cannot occupy the same space. Invite one to stay.” - Maya Angelou

22. "Anchor the eternity of love in your soul. Embed this planet with goodness. Lean toward the whispers of your heart, discover the universal truth, follow its dictates." John Lewis

23. “The time is always right to do what is right." - Martin Luther King, Jr

24. “Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them, humanity cannot survive. Our prime purpose in this life is to help others. And if you can't help them, at least don't hurt them.” - Dalai Lama

25. “Normal day, let me aware of the treasure you are. Let me not pass you by in quest of some rare and perfect tomorrow. Let me hold you while I may; for it may not always be so. One day I shall dig my nails into the earth . . . or raise my hands to the sky and want, more than all the world, your return.” – Mary Jean Irion

Please understand, as Mary Jean Irion pointed out, every day counts. In your meetings, set the tone for proactive gratitude. Keep top of mind, that even in the midst of challenges, we have a choice to choose our attitude, attention and actions ... and it is a difference-maker.

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Sam Horn, CEO of the Tongue Fu! Training Institute, is on a mission to motivate people to treat each other with respect. Her 3 TEDx talks and 9 books have been featured in NY Times, on NPR, and presented to NASA, Capital One, Intel, Nationwide, Cisco, YPO.