The Gratitude Strength Test

Craig Ross

The Gratitude Strength Test

The calendar says it’s time to count our blessings. That’s easy to do when family is near, the table piled with food, and everyone agrees: Don’t talk about who or what makes us angry. Let’s just watch the football game or plug in our favorite DVD.

Can we be thankful, though, even when it’s not normal to be so? Can we be grateful even when we tell ourselves the truth?

Take this Gratitude Strength Test to determine your ability to live with the mindset of thankfulness. Are the five declarations true or false for you? 

  1. I value the experience of my day and work even when it seems like nothing is getting done.
  2. I am grateful for teammates who do things much differently than I do (not just because I learned in diversity and inclusion training that such dynamics are important to success, but also because they fuel the growth in my emotional intelligence).
  3. Even when my health is not what I want it to be, I am thankful that I can function at the levels I am able.
  4. I believe those people in power, with whom I am philosophically not aligned, provide me the opportunity to grow my awareness and seek additional perspectives.
  5. I reflect on the difficulties of the past year and see them as gifts for me to strengthen who I am and what I can more effectively contribute in 2017.

Answering “true” to each statement can be difficult. We might consider, then, a sixth question: I’m grateful there is a day on the calendar to remind me of what is important . . . so that I can resume my quest to being who I truly am.

Now’s our chance to be grateful. And now. And now.