Wooden's Wisdom | Leadership Resource Center

Issue 146 - If We Magnified Blessings As Much As We Magnify Disappointments, We Would All Be Much Happier


Wooden's Wisdom - Volume 3	Issue 146
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IF WE MAGNIFIED BLESSINGS AS MUCH AS WE MAGNIFY DISAPPOINTMENTS, WE WOULD ALL BE MUCH HAPPIER This famous quote from Abraham Lincoln is one that Coach Wooden often referred to when discussing the seventh point in the Seven Point Creed his father gave him: Give thanks for your blessings and pray for guidance every day. In his book Wooden, with Steve Jamison, Coach summed it up this way: So often, we fail to acknowledge what we have because we're so concerned about what we want. We fail to give real thanks for the many blessings for which we did nothing: our life itself, the flowers, the trees, our family and friends. This moment. All of our blessings we take for granted so much of the time. A wise person once observed, "How much more pleasant this world would be if we magnified our blessings the way we magnify our disappointments." And, of course, with that we must also pray for guidance. One of my players at UCLA once told me he was embarrassed to have anyone know that he prayed. There's no shame in praying for guidance. It's a sign of strength. One way of improving an attitude of gratitude is to keep a gratitude journal. If you Google gratitude journal you will find many suggestions on how to go about this. Simply put, it is the process of writing down, once a week, (or an interval you choose), things in your life you're for which you are grateful. Robert Emmons, a professor at the University of California, Davis, arguably the world’s leading expert on the science of gratitude, shared these research-based tips for reaping the greatest psychological rewards from your gratitude journal. Don’t just go through the motions. Research suggests that journaling is more effective if you first make the conscious decision to become happier and more grateful. Go for depth over breadth. Elaborating in detail about a particular thing for which you’re grateful carries more benefits than a superficial list of many things. Get personal. Focusing on people to whom you are grateful has more of an impact than focusing on things for which you are grateful. Try subtraction, not just addition. One effective way of stimulating gratitude is to reflect on what your life would be like without certain blessings, rather than just tallying up all those good things. Savor surprises. Try to record events that were unexpected or surprising, as these tend to elicit stronger levels of gratitude. Don’t overdo it. Writing occasionally, (once or twice per week), is more beneficial than daily journaling. I am very grateful for the opportunity to share this with you. Yours in Coaching, Craig Impelman www.woodenswisdom.com Twitter: @woodenswisdom	COACH'S Favorite Poetry AND PROSE Love of Country (From "The Lay of the Last Minstrel") Breathes there the man, with soul so dead, Who never to himself hath said, This is my own, my native land! Whose heart hath ne'er within him burn'd, As home his footsteps he hath turn'd, From wandering on a foreign strand! If such there breathe, go, mark him well; For him no Minstrel raptures swell; High though his titles, proud his name, Boundless his wealth as wish can claim; Despite those titles, power, and pelf, The wretch, concentred all in self, Living, shall forfeit fair renown, And, doubly dying, shall go down To the vile dust, from whence he sprung, Unwept, unhonour'd, and unsung. Sir Walter Scott
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