Podcasts > Creating Confidence with Heather Monahan > Confidence Classic: How Gratitude Will CHANGE Your Life With Chris Schembra USA Today’s “Gratitude Guru” & Rolling Stone Columnist

Confidence Classic: How Gratitude Will CHANGE Your Life With Chris Schembra USA Today’s “Gratitude Guru” & Rolling Stone Columnist

By Heather Monahan

In this episode of Creating Confidence with Heather Monahan, Chris Schembra, known as USA Today's "Gratitude Guru," shares how cultivating gratitude transformed his outlook on life. He explains the personal and psychological benefits of expressing appreciation, even in the face of negative experiences.

Schembra discusses the science behind gratitude's ability to foster self-awareness, empathy, and personal growth. He also explores how applying gratitude practices in professional settings can strengthen team connections, drive business outcomes, and help individuals overcome limiting beliefs to unlock success.

Confidence Classic: How Gratitude Will CHANGE Your Life With Chris Schembra USA Today’s “Gratitude Guru” & Rolling Stone Columnist

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Confidence Classic: How Gratitude Will CHANGE Your Life With Chris Schembra USA Today’s “Gratitude Guru” & Rolling Stone Columnist

1-Page Summary

The Personal Transformation Power of Gratitude

Chris Schembra shares how gratitude reshaped his outlook after a personal crisis, enabling him to reframe negative emotions through appreciation. Schembra discovered gratitude's power after realizing he focused solely on the negative. His practice of hosting gratitude-focused dinners revealed how expressing appreciation fosters meaningful connections.

The Science and Psychology of Gratitude

Research shows that reflecting on positive aspects of negative experiences promotes personal growth. Schembra emphasizes embracing difficulties as opportunities to develop empathy and self-awareness. Drawing from ancient wisdom, he suggests understanding suffering leads to transformation by enabling gratitude.

Applying Gratitude in Business and Relationships

Schembra demonstrates how gratitude exercises foster stronger team connections and improve client relationships, driving measurable business outcomes. Citing research, he shows emotional connections increase sales and customer loyalty. Gratitude helps individuals overcome limiting beliefs and unlock success.

1-Page Summary

Additional Materials

Counterarguments

  • While gratitude can reshape outlooks, it may not be a universal solution for everyone facing personal crises; individual experiences and mental health conditions can affect how one responds to gratitude practices.
  • Reframing negative emotions through appreciation might not address the root causes of those emotions, and some situations may require additional forms of intervention, such as therapy or counseling.
  • The effectiveness of gratitude-focused dinners in fostering meaningful connections could vary depending on the individuals involved and their willingness to participate genuinely in the process.
  • Reflecting on the positive aspects of negative experiences can be beneficial, but it's important to acknowledge that some experiences may be too traumatic for this approach to be effective without professional support.
  • While embracing difficulties can lead to personal growth, it's also important to recognize when difficulties are harmful or abusive, in which case the priority should be on removing oneself from the situation rather than seeking growth from it.
  • The idea that understanding suffering leads to transformation might not resonate with everyone, especially if it's perceived as minimizing the pain or complexity of their experiences.
  • Gratitude exercises in business settings can improve relationships, but they should not replace fair compensation, good working conditions, and professional development opportunities.
  • Emotional connections may increase sales and customer loyalty, but they should not be manipulated for profit; genuine care for clients is key.
  • Overcoming limiting beliefs through gratitude is a positive step, but success is multifaceted and also depends on factors like opportunity, resources, and systemic barriers that gratitude alone cannot address.

Actionables

  • Start a gratitude jar where you write down one thing you're grateful for each day and read them at the end of the month to reflect on the positive aspects of your life. This can turn into a personal ritual that helps you notice and appreciate the good, even on tough days, and can serve as a reminder of your personal growth over time.
  • Create a "gratitude map" for your personal or work space, where you visually represent people, experiences, and things you're thankful for using photos, notes, or drawings. This can serve as a daily visual cue to foster a mindset of appreciation and can be a conversation starter with others, enhancing emotional connections.
  • Implement a "gratitude minute" at the start of meetings or family dinners where each person shares something they're grateful for. This practice can strengthen team and family bonds, set a positive tone for the interaction, and encourage others to adopt a gratitude mindset, potentially leading to improved relationships and collaboration.

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Confidence Classic: How Gratitude Will CHANGE Your Life With Chris Schembra USA Today’s “Gratitude Guru” & Rolling Stone Columnist

The Personal Transformation Power of Gratitude

Gratitude, as Chris Schembra shares, has the profound capability to reshape one's outlook on life and transform negative emotions into a deep appreciation for life’s experiences.

Gratitude can reshape one's perspective and outlook on life, transforming despair into appreciation.

Chris Schembra’s personal story of transformation begins with a self-realization after returning from Italy. Although he seemed successful on the outside, internally he felt lonely and overwhelmed. Schembra credits the power of community and gratitude with saving his life during this difficult period. It is through gratitude that he found the strength to reframe his mindset and discover meaning in the face of adversity.

The speaker shares how a profound personal struggle led him to discover the transformative power of gratitude, enabling him to reframe his mindset and find meaning in adversity.

Schembra recounts a severe personal crisis on December 30th, 2021, ending in non-suicidal self-injury. He felt like a miserable fraud, wrestling with negative emotions. In a conversation with his friend Scott, Schembra realized he had been focusing exclusively on the negative aspects of his life. This conversation and reflection sparked his understanding of the transformative power of gratitude. Schembra began to understand that by expressing gratitude for the positive aspects of his life's journey, he could destigmatize the negative emotions he felt, such as regret.

Gratitude practices can help individuals overcome negative emotions like loneliness, disconnection, and anxiety.

Schembra discovered the immense power of gratitude to transform and create meaningful connections through his practice of hosting gratitude-focused dinner parties in New York City. He invited guests to his dinners to share stories of individuals they had never thought to thank. This practice moved beyond the usual superficial expressions of gratitude, leading to real, heartfelt stories and profound emotional connections among the guests.

The speaker's personal experience of hosting gratitude-focused dinner parties revealed h ...

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The Personal Transformation Power of Gratitude

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Counterarguments

  • While gratitude can be transformative for some, it may not be a universal solution for everyone's emotional struggles or mental health issues. Some individuals may require professional therapy or medical intervention.
  • The effectiveness of gratitude practices might be influenced by individual differences, such as personality traits, life circumstances, and cultural backgrounds, which can affect how people perceive and benefit from gratitude.
  • The narrative of personal transformation through gratitude may inadvertently minimize the complexity of issues like depression or anxiety, which can sometimes require more than a change in perspective or mindset.
  • The concept of gratitude dinners and sharing personal stories might not be comfortable or practical for everyone, especially for those who are introverted, socially anxious, or have had traumatic experiences they are not ready to share in a group setting.
  • The idea that ...

Actionables

  • Start a gratitude chain message with friends or family where each person adds something they're grateful for before passing it on, creating a collective tapestry of appreciation that can be revisited for inspiration.
    • This strategy leverages the connectivity of messaging apps and the power of shared experiences. Imagine a group chat where the only purpose is to add what you're grateful for that day. It becomes a living document of positivity that can help combat feelings of disconnection and loneliness.
  • Incorporate a "gratitude twist" to your daily routine by identifying a challenging situation each day and finding an aspect of it to be thankful for, thus turning obstacles into opportunities for growth.
    • This could be as simple as acknowledging the patience you developed from being stuck in traffic or the insight gained from a work conflict. It's about actively seeking the silver lining and allowing that perspective to reshape your outlook on daily challenges.
  • Create a personal gratitude jar where you deposit notes of gratitude ...

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Confidence Classic: How Gratitude Will CHANGE Your Life With Chris Schembra USA Today’s “Gratitude Guru” & Rolling Stone Columnist

The Science and Psychology of Gratitude

Research and anecdotal evidence suggest that gratitude-based exercises offer cognitive and emotional benefits, which can transform adversity into a positive force for personal growth.

Research demonstrates the cognitive and emotional benefits of gratitude-based exercises

Studies show that actively reflecting on the positive aspects of negative experiences, rather than just dwelling on them, can lead to greater personal growth and well-being.

Philip Watkins conducted a research study known as the grateful processing of unpleasant memories. Participants were asked to reflect on a negative experience, and when they identified positive outcomes, the negative experience had the potential to become one of the best things to happen to them. This indicates that people may learn more from their imperfect lives and failures rather than when they pretend to have perfect lives.

Gratitude practices have the power to transform how individuals perceive and respond to adversity

The speaker emphasizes that life's difficulties are not meant to be avoided or fixed, but rather embraced as opportunities for learning, transformation, and the development of greater empathy and self-awareness.

The speaker, Chris Schembra, acknowledges that scars and traumatic experiences could become learning opportunities and a form of connecting with others. This transforms difficult situations into something one can be grateful for. Embracing life's difficulties serves as a pathway for developing empathy and self-awareness.

Schembra refers to wisdom from a book written in 63 AD by Seneca the Elder, which suggests that ingratitude has been plaguing humanity for centuries, leading to negative behaviors and attitudes. The adoption of a perspective of gratitude in the face of adversity is powerful and can change how we interact with our difficulties. Difficulties are to be embraced as part of life's journey for growth and development, rather than being avo ...

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The Science and Psychology of Gratitude

Additional Materials

Counterarguments

  • While gratitude can be beneficial, it is not a panacea and may not be effective for everyone, especially in cases of severe trauma or mental health issues where professional help is necessary.
  • The emphasis on personal growth through adversity may inadvertently lead to the glorification of suffering, which could discourage individuals from seeking necessary help or change.
  • The concept of learning from "dark moments" might not be applicable in situations where individuals are unable to find or create positive outcomes from their negative experiences.
  • The idea that embracing life's difficulties can lead to empathy and self-awareness assumes that all individuals have the same capacity for reflection and emotional processing, which may not account for differences in personality, culture, or cognitive abilities.
  • The research on gratitude is often correlational, making it difficult to establish causation; other factors may contribute to the observed benefits.
  • The focus on gratitude might lead to self-blame in individuals who struggle to feel grateful during toug ...

Actionables

  • You can create a "gratitude map" by drawing a visual representation of a challenging event and branching out to positive outcomes or learnings that emerged from it. Start with a central image that symbolizes the difficulty, and use lines to connect it to other images or words that represent what you've gained, such as empathy or a new skill. This visual approach can make abstract concepts more tangible and reinforce the positive aspects of adversity.
  • Develop a habit of writing "reverse thank-you notes" to yourself, where you thank your past challenges for the strength and wisdom they've provided. Keep a journal or a digital document where you regularly write notes acknowledging how specific difficulties have contributed to your growth. This practice can shift your perspective on past events and foster a sense of gratitude for life's complexities.
  • Integrate a "stoic reflection" ...

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Confidence Classic: How Gratitude Will CHANGE Your Life With Chris Schembra USA Today’s “Gratitude Guru” & Rolling Stone Columnist

Applying Gratitude in Business and Relationships

Gratitude is not just a personal virtue but also a powerful tool that can transform professional settings, fostering stronger connections, improving client relationships, and driving measurable business outcomes.

Incorporating gratitude-based activities into professional settings can foster stronger team connections, improve client relationships, and even drive measurable business outcomes.

Emotional connections and meaningful interactions in the workplace are not merely beneficial for a positive work culture; they also have a significant impact on tangible business outcomes. Research shows that such connections with clients and colleagues can lead to increased sales, strengthened customer loyalty, and a greater willingness to pay premium prices. Chris Schembra, the speaker in this context, demonstrates that the introduction of gratitude into corporate events can radically transform them from a virtual gathering that may feel lacking to a successful event that leaves participants feeling grateful, connected, happy, wiser, lighter, and joyous.

Companies have reached out to Schembra to replicate this gratitude experience for their employees who felt disconnected and miserable due to the emotional toll of remote work. The gratitude exercises implemented by Schembra have proven to be overwhelmingly successful, with a 99.998% success rate in guaranteeing positive, emotional, measurable, and meaningful transformations.

Gratitude can be a powerful tool for personal and professional development, helping individuals overcome limiting beliefs and unlock new levels of success.

With teams and organizations facing the unprecedented challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, Schembra has assisted in navigating these difficult times through gratitude-focused techniques that promote unity, ...

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Applying Gratitude in Business and Relationships

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Clarifications

  • Chris Schembra is known for his work in incorporating gratitude into professional settings to enhance team connections and client relationships. He organizes gratitude-based activities and events that aim to create emotional connections and meaningful interactions in the workplace. Schembra's techniques have been successful in transforming corporate events and improving employee morale, particularly during challenging times like the COVID-19 pandemic. His approach emphasizes the power of gratitude in driving positive emotional transformations and fostering unity within teams and organizations.
  • Emotional connections and interactions in the workplace encompass the positive relationships, trust, and rapport established between colleagues and clients. These connections go beyond surface-level interactions, fostering a sense of belonging, understanding, and support with ...

Actionables

  • Start a gratitude journal dedicated to workplace interactions to deepen your appreciation for colleagues and clients. Each day, write down three specific things you're grateful for about your interactions, such as a team member's helpful feedback or a client's enthusiasm. This practice can make you more aware of the positive aspects of your professional relationships, encouraging a more appreciative and cohesive work environment.
  • Create personalized thank-you notes for clients or colleagues after significant interactions or milestones. Use details from your interactions to express genuine gratitude, such as thanking a client for insightful questions during a presentation or a colleague for their support on a challenging project. This can strengthen emotional ties and show that you value their contributions, potentially leading to i ...

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