With the approaching Thanksgiving holiday comes precious time with family, an occasion to relax and opportunities to express gratitude. Reflecting on Thanksgiving, my favorite holiday, reminds me of an article published by Scott Mautz about Dr. Laurie Santos’ Yale psychology class. Dr. Santos holds the title of professor of the largest class in the history of the institution. Her course focuses on habits that can lead to increased happiness in life. A few of the key takeaways from the course include expressing gratitude more often, avoiding procrastination and improving connections with those around you.
In expressing gratitude, she suggests to complete acts as simple as saying “thank you” out of context to others to remind them they are appreciated, both in times of achievement and failure. In order to procrastinate less, she recommends avoiding pressure and last minute deadlines to encourage your work ethic. Finally, improving your social connections with others can occur when positive remarks are shared about co-workers in order to build them up and support their work.
As friends and family surround us, Thanksgiving presents a perfect time to practice these behaviors to express our gratefulness and bond with others. The holiday is a refreshing break to recharge, recreate and be more efficient when we return to work. And hopefully, the overall experience will be good for our spirits. Learning about Dr. Santos’ work makes me think again of our own TTUHSC Values Based Culture initiative and such values as being One Team and Kindhearted.
Here’s wishing you a wonderful Thanksgiving! I am grateful for you and all you do to make Texas Tech Physicians successful.