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Gratitude is a secret weapon for attracting more opportunities

exaltitude.io

41–50 of 110 posts

Re: Gratitude is a secret weapon for attracting more opportunities

#41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I like to call this "toxic positivity". Forced cheeriness about the grind, the hustle, we're all in this together, etc. Better than negativity, but not by much.

Like many other tools utilised by powerful leaders/CEOs, mandatory positively, too, is a means to an end. An excolleague of mine was a "happiness engineer" at a FAANG-esque firm, we discussed the pros and cons of ensuring positive communication is demonstrated in all echelons of the business. We were delighted knowing that although discontent existed in some engineers, the mandatory happiness messaging prevented them…

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Re: Gratitude is a secret weapon for attracting more opportunities

#42

Gratitude, kindness, and explicit acknowledgement of appreciation for others really does go a long way. However, I feel like I've been meeting more people in the workplace who read articles like this and implement it in a robotic, forced manner. Like they're using it as a tool to get what they want out of others, as opposed to a genuine expression of how they feel. Genuine gratitude goes much further than just going…

This is all true. I cannot control them but I can remind myself to experience gratitude daily. I can also identify appropriate sources for my gratitude lest someone should try to leverage my gratitude for their purposes.

Re: Gratitude is a secret weapon for attracting more opportunities

#43

Gratitude, kindness, and explicit acknowledgement of appreciation for others really does go a long way. However, I feel like I've been meeting more people in the workplace who read articles like this and implement it in a robotic, forced manner. Like they're using it as a tool to get what they want out of others, as opposed to a genuine expression of how they feel. Genuine gratitude goes much further than just going…

My students have lately taken to thanking me for my time and help every time we speak. It's sort of sweet, but not if some coach told them to do it to attract opportunities. It's getting to where I silently add "Mrs. Cleaver" to every effusive thank-you. (That is an old-folks joke; you'll just have to duck-duck it.)

Nah, I get the model for obsequious behavior.

Re: Gratitude is a secret weapon for attracting more opportunities

#44

Gratitude, kindness, and explicit acknowledgement of appreciation for others really does go a long way. However, I feel like I've been meeting more people in the workplace who read articles like this and implement it in a robotic, forced manner. Like they're using it as a tool to get what they want out of others, as opposed to a genuine expression of how they feel. Genuine gratitude goes much further than just going…

Kind of how every salesperson gives the same canned response to any question during a Zoom call. "So, do you charge extra for single-sign on?" Yea. Wow. Great question. Many of our customers have asked...

“SSO is free with the Enterprise bundle”

Atlassian: not even then!

Re: Gratitude is a secret weapon for attracting more opportunities

#45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I like to call this "toxic positivity". Forced cheeriness about the grind, the hustle, we're all in this together, etc. Better than negativity, but not by much.

Like many other tools utilised by powerful leaders/CEOs, mandatory positively, too, is a means to an end. An excolleague of mine was a "happiness engineer" at a FAANG-esque firm, we discussed the pros and cons of ensuring positive communication is demonstrated in all echelons of the business. We were delighted knowing that although discontent existed in some engineers, the mandatory happiness messaging prevented them…

I generally agree that a positive culture lets people focus on their work.

I don't agree that a negative outlook should automatically dismiss someone or their ideas. That's seriously crazy toxic. Some of the best work comes from frustration and it's totally worth it to dig into that resource when you have problems being swept under the rug by maliciously cheery people.

Re: Gratitude is a secret weapon for attracting more opportunities

#46

Gratitude, kindness, and explicit acknowledgement of appreciation for others really does go a long way. However, I feel like I've been meeting more people in the workplace who read articles like this and implement it in a robotic, forced manner. Like they're using it as a tool to get what they want out of others, as opposed to a genuine expression of how they feel. Genuine gratitude goes much further than just going…

I like to call this "toxic positivity". Forced cheeriness about the grind, the hustle, we're all in this together, etc. Better than negativity, but not by much.

I went to Disneyland yesterday and I felt that way every time a staff member stopped to wave at us. Dystopian.

Re: Gratitude is a secret weapon for attracting more opportunities

#47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I like to call this "toxic positivity". Forced cheeriness about the grind, the hustle, we're all in this together, etc. Better than negativity, but not by much.

I'm not sure it's better than negativity to be honest. Honest negativity is at least honest.

that's just a unconventional way of describing constructive criticism in my mind though, which can still be done in a positive way.

Re: Gratitude is a secret weapon for attracting more opportunities

#48

Gratitude = Weapon? Some real 1984 type shit

Weapon does not automatically imply killing and being on the offense. The existence of weapons can also be used to defend the helpless and conduct peacekeeping actions. It is important to keep an open mind about this.

This is even more newspeaky than what the GP was implying

Re: Gratitude is a secret weapon for attracting more opportunities

#49
Gratitude is overrated and over-applied, and often prescribed disingenuously. Resentment, it's opposite, is poison in the modern world. Resentment is an impulse that amounts to a shallow middle finger, and if you try to use it for long-term motivation you become unstable. Many people turn to intentional gratitude as an antidote to resentment, but it's often an overcompensation.

Become too grateful and you deny the state of the world, your motivation shifts and you become an unwitting agent of the status quo. And maybe the status quo isn't all that bad, but it does prevent striving to make it better. Monks and Nuns of various religions are probably some of the most active practitioners of intentional gratitude. They also have minimal impact on improving peoples' quality of life.

No wonder corporations love prescribing it, corporations are ultimately authoritarian dictatorships and/or oligarchies. Gratitude nips any rebellion in the bud at the lowest possible cost. Why create a startup that out-competes an old, incompetent dinosaur of a business when you can spend those hours appreciating ice cream and the fact that you have a roof over your head, didn't die in a car crash that day, and don't suffer from any chronic diseases that don't usually hit your age demographic anyway?

So by all means, don't be resentful be content, but save your gratitude for improvements, strive to enact those improvements if you can. And don't be afraid to use negative emotion as a pointer for where to start.

Re: Gratitude is a secret weapon for attracting more opportunities

#50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Quoted post unavailable.

There's definitely a counter-culture of people in America who believe that being pleasant or warm is to lose some sort of dignity; that being nice is subordinate conformist behavior. Instead they proudly wear surliness and aloofness to show that they will not bend to norms or hierarchy. The result is that they typically do not get chosen for more interesting projects, are passed over for promotions, and interview poo…

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