We’ve talked about this many times on this nurse self-care blog. However, it is so important that I believe it time to do it again.

[Tweet “A great way to boost nursing resilience is through gratitude.”]

According to Wikipedia, gratitude is a feeling or attitude in acknowledgement of a benefit that one has received or will receive. What is interesting is that it was not until the year 2000 that gratitude began to be systematically studied. And as the Wikipedia page shares, this was probably due to the shift from one of disease focus to that of positive psychology.

What I love about the above definition is that it incorporates the words ‘feeling’, ‘benefit’, and ‘experience’. We hear it a lot in our nursing practice. Give and receive both constructive and positive feedback. Praise your employees and acknowledge a job well done.

Well if it is all ‘words’ and no ‘heart’, people will feel that.

Whether or not you buy in to Reiki Practice, people feel vibrations. We pick up each other’s ‘energy’. You can ‘get a vibe’ for how someone is feeling even if they tell you that they are ‘fine’.

So I encourage you to do three things this week:

• Express gratitude to a nursing colleague through emotion and/or feeling. Build upon the words with the actions and experiences of sharing thanks.
• Receive gratitude from another human being without brushing it off. Yes, it is often ‘part of our job description’ to do a job well done. Yet accept the thanks that you receive with a smile and a feeling of joy in your heart.
• Lift nursing up. Speak, act, and experience nursing practice in a joyful way. If you observe a negative or complaint filled conversation in the break room; leave. If you overhear gossip; shut it down. Spread joy in your nursing community this week and be grateful for the privilege of your role to help others.

What would you add to this list? How can you spread joy in your nursing community? What or who are you thankful for today? Leave a comment below and let us spread cheer in our nursing careers.