A Thankless Job -- No More

     With today being election day, I was thinking about our many local elected officials who spend so much time and effort working on our behalf, in most cases for no pay at all (School Board, Town Council, etc.).  It saddens me when I read letters-to-the-editor or online message board comments that speak with such anger and nastiness when criticizing local officials.  Many of them seem to suggest that anyone with a differing point of view must be part of some nefarious conspiracy to ruin our town.  I think it's the complete opposite.

     Call me naive, but I think nearly all our local elected officials serve our town out of a genuine interest in giving back to our community and they put it countless hours trying to make the best decisions they can while dealing with complex issues.  I may not always agree with every decision that's made, but I don't doubt the motive behind the decisions.  Tonight, I decided to write a note of thanks to one of our officials who will be "retiring" after this election.

     In my note, which was handwritten of course, I let this person know how much I personally appreciated his efforts as well as his accomplishments.  It's too often a thankless job, but not any more (at least for 1 night!).

Appreciating What We Have

     I've written before about some of the research that's been done examining the most common attributes of happy people.  Two of the attributes that consistently make the list are practicing kindness and showing gratitude.  From time to time this year I've tried to remind myself to slow down and feel and express gratitude.  Sometimes this is verbal and other times it takes the form of a thank you note.  Today it was the latter.

     I was enjoying playing golf on yet another spectacular September day and was appreciating the fabulous course conditions we have at my home course, Riverton Country Club.  While most courses ought to be in great shape given the recent good weather, not all, in fact, are.  It seems to me that Riverton is almost always in better than shape than most of the surrounding courses, regardless of the weather.  And this is true despite budget challenges and issues we have with water allocation.  I believe the credit for this goes to our golf course superintendent.

     Being a golf course superintendent is often one of those thankless jobs.  Everyone believes they're an expert on turf management and tree care, and they're not hesitant to whine and complain about why the course isn't one way or another.  In contrast, I just enjoy what's there and appreciate the work that goes into making it so nice.  Tonight, I sent a handwritten letter to our superintendent thanking him for his great work and letting him know how much I appreciate all that he does to keep our course in such great shape.  I'm not sure how often he gets thanked, but I'm guessing not very often.

     My anecdotal observations seem to confirm what the research shows:  happy people spend much less time complaining and much more time being thankful than do unhappy people.  The funny thing to me is that which we you see the world is entirely a personal choice.  Why would you choose to see things in a way that makes you unhappy?  I make happy choices each and every day.

A Note of Thanks

     Lately I've been doing quite a bit of traveling in conjunction with a workshop I do for CEO's around the country helping them learn how to develop high performance teams through building a powerful organizational culture.  Most of these talks are arranged through a great organization called Vistage (I've mentioned them in previous blogs).  Vistage has a travel department that coordinates and books all the air, hotels, and rental cars that are necessary to get me (and other speakers) to the various locations where I'm requested to present.  

     There are two women who work in the travel department, Lisa and Anca.  Both have been incredibly helpful, friendly, accommodating, and easy to work with.  They're always cheerful and are more than happy to make any changes that may be necessary as plans inevitably get switched around.  I'm guessing they don't often get the acknowledgment they deserve, so tonight I decided to send them a personal note letting them know how much I appreciate working with them.  

    I'm not always as good as I could be at remembering to acknowledge those who do great work, but I'm working on it.  Tonight was a step in that direction.

Thanking a "Sponsor"

     In an earlier blog I wrote a few months ago, I mentioned the CEO peer group organization, Vistage International.  It's an organization that puts together primarily CEO's for the purpose of providing executive coaching and peer support.  I've spent quite a bit of time so far this year speaking to Vistage groups all over the country, and I have many more already booked throughout the rest of the year.  It's been a great opportunity for me, and one that began with the recommendation of a friend/client.  Today I sent a thank you note to that person letting them know the impact they had.

     There's a book my wife read last year (I can't remember the name) by a guy who wrote a thank you note every day for a year.  Apparently it had an enormous impact on him and his outlook on life.  Thankfulness, or gratitude, in fact, is often mentioned as one of the "secrets" to a happy life.  As a part of this kindness project, I've been trying to increase my awareness of gratitude and trying to remember to express it more frequently.  Thank you notes are a good step in that direction.

Time for a Thank You Note

     As I've written about from time to time this year, kindness and gratitude seem to go hand-in-hand.  Interestingly, both are also on the short list of what most researchers have found are the keys to happiness.  For my part, I've found it useful to occasionally think about various people in my life for whom I'm thankful, and to let them know.  Today was one of those days.

     My wife and I both went to the College of William and Mary, in Williamsburg, Virginia, and my daughter Hannah is fortunate enough to be there now.  Among the many people we met when we were there so many years ago is a wonderful couple who have been a part of both the college and Williamsburg communities since the 1970's.  They've been good friends of ours for many years and have always welcomed us to use their home as if it were our own whenever we're in town.  

     In addition to having a home away from home, it's a great comfort to know that Hannah has an adult support network in Williamsburg (together with her grandparents who are also there now!).  There's nothing like old friends who you can count on and with whom you can always simply be yourself.  Today I sent these friends a note letting them know how much I appreciate them.