King Arthur had a lot to be grateful for, didn't he? Born of noble blood, his parents sent him to live a pauper's life to save his own and, when the time was right, he pulled his sword, Excalibur, from the stone and became King. All during his reign he appreciated his life, his friends, and the gifts he was given. When he was betrayed by what he held as sacred, he discarded his grateful attitude (along with Excalibur) and his Kingdom went into the "crapper" (that's a technical term). His subjects would murmur, "The King without a sword, the Kingdom without a King." Such is the way for all of us when we discard our swords of gratitiude - "YOU without an attitude of gratitude, your life without a purpose." Being thankful for all the blessings in your life will not only make you happier, it will make you a better person to be around and research shows that it will help you live longer as well! To help cultivate an "attitude of gratitude" and keep your sword close, try these simple strategies:.

Keep a Gratitude Journal
When you wake up or right before you go to bed (or both), take a few minutes to jot down the things you are thankful for that day - big or small, every little bit of concentrated effort in focus on the positive will do marvelous things for your disposition. Even the darkest cloud can have a silver lining if you look deep enough.

Pass it Forward
Do something nice for another and expect NOTHING in return (especially if you are having a particularly difficult day-it will lift your spirits). My wife enjoys cruising through the coffee shop drive-thru twice a week on her way to work. Occasionally, she will purchase the coffee for the person in the car behind her. This not only surprises the receiver of the free coffee, but the cashier, too.

Convert
There are two types of people - carriers and converters. Carriers carry every negative thing that happens to them around like a disease and try to pass it along to you. If their day is going really bad, they want yours to be just as bad. The carrier isn't happy unless you can truly understand his misery and that can't happen unless you are as miserable as he is. To maintain your attitude of gratitude, you need to surround yourself with converters. Converters take the bad and make it good. It makes no difference if they woke up to four flat tires, explosive diarrhea, or an eviction notice; a converter has a smile on his face and tries to lighten the load of those around them. Surround yourself with converters and work to be a converter yourself - then watch the atmosphere around you change!

Maintaining your thankful attitude isn't always easy because, let's face it, there are days that each of us wants to scream, "do over!" If it were only that easy! But those days can go much smoother if your attitude sword is sharp, clean, and on your side. To keep it that way and feeling like a King (or Queen) every day, try to work the strategies I suggested into your daily routine - the more you practice the easier it will be to wield the sword of gratitude.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK:

"An optimist is a person who starts a new diet on Thanksgiving Day."

- Irv Kupcinet

Keep laughing, leading, rockin', and connecting!

Plan an office potluck for Thanksgiving and try ALL of these fun strategies:

- During the middle of the meal, turn to the person that brought the turkey and say, "See, I told you they wouldn't notice that the turkey was four months past its expiration date. You were worried for nothing."

- When everyone goes around to say what they are thankful for, say, "I'm thankful I didn't get caught" and refuse to say anything more.

- Load your plate up high, then take it to the kitchen/cafeteria, toss it all in the blender, and take your "shake" back to the table. Announce that it's the new Thanksgiving Weight Loss Shake

- Prepare a several hour long speech to give when asked about your thankfulness. If necessary, insist that no one leave or eat until you have finished the speech.

- Bring a friend from another department that only talks about the tragic and abusive conditions known to exist at turkey farms. Request that he/she bring photos.

November 19th - Pencil Day

November 20th - Traffic Light Day

November 21st - Pumpkin Pie Day

November 22nd - THANKSGIVING DAY!!

November 23rd - Paranoia Day

November 24th - National Expresso day

November 25th - Shopping Reminder Day

A lady was picking through the frozen turkeys at the grocery store, but couldn't find one big enough for her family.
She asked the stock boy, 'Do these turkeys get any bigger?'
The stock boy answered, 'No ma' am, they're dead.'

Gobble Gobble....that's a real TURKEY! It's sure to please this week!

Read about what I am doing in the world of humor and leadership and post what you are doing to increased teamwork, build connections and retain your quality people!

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- Oliver (Loyal Bassett Hound)

I work with people who want to increase teamwork, productivity, and communication and with organizations that want to create a more positive, change resilient culture.

There's never been a better time to connect, inspire and provide positive leadership than right now. Develop your leaders with a workshop or inspirational talk today!

Chip is a retired Navy Officer with 22 years leadership experience. He served as Commanding Officer of two separate Navy Facilities and was the Director of Security for Naval District Washington, DC during September 11th, 2001. Additionally, he is adjunct faculty for two colleges where he teaches classes in leadership, teamwork, and organizational behavior.