Gratitude Practice – Your Inspirational Team

Gratitude is very powerful. It directs your brain to focus on what you have rather than what you are lacking. It reminds you of the goodness around you, especially in a challenging situation.

One of my patients passed away unexpectedly. He had advanced cancer, but he was not supposed to pass away so suddenly. His wife thanked me for offering him the treatment, which gave her an extra month to spend with him. This is a great reminder that gratitude offers peace in times of tragic loss.

Gratitude is a great gateway of connection. It strengthens the human bonds. It keeps your mental health in check. It fills your emotional tank. Gratitude lets you appreciate the goodness around you while still acknowledging the imperfections. You can face reality with a more hopeful attitude. You are also more likely to be kind and loving toward others.

It is simple to practice gratitude. Have the awareness of things around you, think of what you appreciate about them, and be grateful for them.

Practicing gratitude does not confine to things happening around us or people involved in real time. You can be grateful for past events or people from the past. Gratitude sees no boundaries – unless you put one around it.

One of the exercises my coach did with me the other day was forming my inspirational team to be grateful for. I would like to share with you here. Feel free to form your own team. Your team members may be someone from the past or the present, someone who is deceased or alive. That person may be inspirational in a particular aspect of your life.

My first team member is my mother. She is an example of what unconditional love, kindness, patience and calm looks like. She is slow to anger. She makes decision like a boss. She is always serving others while taking care of her own health. She is my inspiration for becoming a physician. I am grateful for her being my Mom and for being who she is.

The second team member is Vera. She is my best friend from first grade. Besides being grateful for her friendship, she is my role model of great health. The three pillars of health – diet, exercise and sleep – she does it all very well. Vera eats an almost plant-based diet. She sleeps at least seven hours a day. She runs every day and plans to get the London Classics medal for completing the RideLondon 100 (she completed this 100-mile bike ride at the time of writing this blog), the London Marathon and the 2-mile swim at Swim Serpentine. After spending a vacation with her, I am leveling up my exercise regimen.

Alice is the third member in my team. I have known her for over twenty years. She is my spiritual guide, who is my example of what a Christ-like person is like. She opens up her home to host our small group meetings almost every week of the year. She never hesitates to help and to organize people to help. Besides taking practical steps, she seeks guidance with prayer. You can feel her spiritual maturity and calmness just by talking with her.

As for business advisory, Dr. Una is my fourth member. She has taught me many different strategies, not only about business, but about life in general. What would Dr. Una do – that is always a helpful guiding question. She leads by example with how she handles her businesses, how she mentors her students and how she serves both the physicians and in her church. It will take me another blog to share all the details of what she does and what her impact is. I am grateful to have met such a wonderful mentor and human being.

My last inspirational team member is Noelle. She is always a delight to talk to. She always brings up new ideas and new ways of coaching. While she is coaching me and I benefit from that, I am also learning more about the coaching itself. She is truly a beacon. Somehow she guides me back to the main focus when I start wandering off. Her radiant, loving and firm approach shines through the screen when I meet with her virtually.

I am grateful for all these people in my life. They are my example of what is possible. Even though the self-doubt comes up from time to time – of course it does, I am human – thinking about my inspirational team, or a particular member at that particular moment, brings me back to being hopeful. It reminds me of the confidence I have in me.

Who are the members of your inspirational team?