It’s not unusual for a podcast episode I’m working on to infiltrate my thoughts as I go about my day. But the subject of my most recent episode has lingered longer than usual.
For those that need a reminder, the episode was called “How Harnessing Gratitude Can Improve Work-Life Balance: Work, Life, Balance Lesson #10“, which is part of my Work, Life, Balance Lessons series.
These are solo podcast episodes where I reflect on recurring themes that have emerged from my podcast interviews, and the practical tips that guests have shared about finding balance.
Lesson #10 was essentially a summary of what podcast guests have shared about how tapping into their feelings of gratitude improved their work-life balance.
Now, none of this is rocket science. But in each example of how feeling grateful enhanced my interviewee’s sense of balance, I observed the intentionality, as well as the strength and clarity of mind, it took for my podcast guests to tap into their gratitude.
Inspired and intrigued by this, I tried putting their lessons into practice while I prepared the podcast for publication.
At first it was experimental: as part of my usual morning routine, I specifically disciplined myself, with more intention than usual, to think about what I was grateful for in the moment.
As the week went on, I found myself becoming more attuned to the things I feel grateful for. On a dog walk one frosty morning, for example, I caught a glimpse of a bright flower in the grass and paused to take a closer look, spending a few moments marvelling how the frost was melting into dew, and appreciating the hint of springtime after what feels like a very long winter.
In slowing down, I again intentionally disciplined myself to appreciate that moment, and my mind then wandered to contemplate some of the other things I felt grateful for. It was a positive feeling, which lifted my spirits, albeit momentarily.
As the week went on, I continued harnessing this discipline of “feeling grateful”. It didn’t happen automatically, but when my mood felt low, or I felt overwhelmed, I purposefully tried directing my thoughts to the three levels of gratitude I’d summarised in my podcast episode:
- Considering what you’re grateful for in the bigger picture context of your environment and the world and society at large, as described by Joe Roukin and Amanda Kaya in their podcast episodes.
- Considering what you’re grateful for in the context of your own work and home life, looking back on previous stages of your career and personal life to gain perspective of what you feel grateful for in this moment, as described by Bettina Jacobs in her interview.
- Considering what you are grateful for from the people around you and expressing this directly to them by saying “thank you”, as Tom McLaughlan described in his podcast interview.
I found the effects of feeling grateful to be quite fleeting. More often than not, my mind would quickly be whisked away to the realities of whatever task was demanding my attention. But there were some lovely moments when I reminded myself of my good fortune, or when I reminded myself that things could be worse, which raised my optimism and instilled some momentary calm, contentment and motivation.
Through trying to harness my sense of gratitude to improve my sense of balance, I experienced first-hand what I’d summarised in the podcast episode: that gratitude is not a default state of mind. While some people may be more naturally or circumstantially inclined toward it, it is a feeling, a quality, that must be consciously cultivated in order for it to arise. And then, to feel its full effect, it needs to be actively put into practice.
Whilst I found the effects not to be particularly long-lasting in the moment of the practice, the effort in doing so was worth it for the boost it injected.
I think overall it did improve my work-life balance, and possibly impacted positively on those around me too, so it’s a lesson I will try to remind myself of again and again. Meanwhile, I’ll turn my attention to editing the next podcast episode! More on that to come soon…