Today is the one day you should take inventory of all the great things you have in life.  Honestly, the premed community can be rather pessimistic at times.  Students are constantly concerned about all the things they need to be focused on in order to get into medical school.  This leads to stress and a poor outlook on life.  When people are in such situations, they become ungrateful.  They forget about all their blessings and focus solely on the things that aren’t going their way.  This leads to more stress which in turn leads some students to poorer performance.

Gratitude leads to action!  I truly believe this.  When you re grateful for what others have done for you, you want to repay them, or pay it forward.  We’ve all heard the wise words, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”   Life in general is full of reciprocities.    When you’re kind to people, people will be kind to you.  When you help others, others will help you.  I believe God created this world in a way that encourages generosity.  But at times, we simply don’t feel like being generous.  We have our own issues and can’t muster up the energy to help other people.  Ultimately, all of us going into healthcare want to be generous to others and when we’re not doing that, it impacts our confidence and satisfaction.  This is where I believe being thankful comes in to play.

The psychology of being grateful is rather powerful.  Have you ever considered how and why this really works.  Let’s consider an example that might surprise you.  In the world of business, sales and marketing teams use the psychology of being grateful to get dollars out of your pocket.  Have you ever gone into a car dealership simply to look around?  What’s one of the first things the sales guy or gal does?  In my experience, it’s been to offer me a snack or something to drink.  Why do they do that?  It’s to make you feel grateful towards them.  When you feel this way, you’re more inclined to reciprocate by giving them something back.  The thing they want back is for you to buy a car!  They give you something worth less than a dollar, you give them thousands!

I’m not saying you should be thankful so people can bamboozle you, rather be thankful because it motivates you to act! In the prior example, if a car salesman can influence someone to buy a car by giving them a bottle of water, then I think it’s fair to say that you can be influenced to do a free good deed for someone else when you are grateful for what others have done for you.  And here’s the cool part about doing stuff for other people, it gives you a deep joy on the inside!

What do some of the richest people in the world do for a living?  They end up becoming philanthropist.  This is large part is because they’ve reached the pinnacle of business and are grateful for their successes so they in turn decide to give back and help others.  Beyond that, they also do it because it makes them feel good and brings them joy.

Gratitude leads to positive action!  I truly believe this.  What are some examples of times when being grateful for something led you to do something for others?  Please share in the comments.

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