Risk & Business Magazine JGS Insurance Magazine Fall 2018 | Page 8

GRATITUDE
As a Marketing Associate with over seven years of experience making
things “look pretty,” Alicia Ambrose has mastered the ins and outs
of graphic design, social media and brand awareness. After honing
and executing these specialties, over the years, Alicia was excited
to join JGS Insurance in the spring of 2017 where she spends the
majority of her time brainstorming strategies to evolve this nearly
100-year old company, championing health and wellness initiatives
for her coworkers all while making sure everything “looks pretty.”
BY: ALICIA AMBROSE
MARKETING ASSOCIATE
JGS INSURANGE
How Gratitude
Makes Positivity
A Daily Habit
E
ven the most happy and
optimistic people have days
when their positivity is
challenged. The thing that
separates them from many
others is their ability to bounce back and
maintain that positivity and optimism
even in the face of adversity. Doing that,
when it comes right down to it, is a matter
of what you choose. You can either choose
to be positive and maintain a positive
outlook on life or you can choose to be
miserable. Either way, don’t make the
mistake of thinking that your mood is
something that is happening to you and
not something you have control over.
Each day that comes to us is a gift. Those
gifts can sometimes contain great things.
Likewise, they can sometimes contain
things that make us wish we hadn’t
received them. It’s hard to keep a smile
on your face when you experience work
problems, social woes, or things just
aren’t going your way. Small daily rituals,
however, can help you overcome those
issues and keep a grip on what is really
important to you.
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Here are some examples:
• Planning out your next day before you
go to bed at night, removing that stress
from the next day
• Think about the people you will meet
during the day and how you want those
interactions to go
• Spend a little time to yourself doing
something you enjoy
Obviously this list is not exhaustive. In fact,
perhaps the number one indicator of how
positive and optimistic a person may be is
the degree to which they practice gratitude.
Much like optimism and positivity, it isn’t
always easy to practice gratitude. Doing
so, however, can have a profound effect on
your outlook on life. The problem often
isn’t being grateful; it’s knowing what to be
grateful about. Once you get past the low
hanging fruit (family, a home, food, etc.), it
starts to get a bit hazy.
Consider this: not only are the good things
in your life something to be grateful for
but so are the things that you perceive as
negative. Let’s say the line in the grocery
store is extremely long. Most people
would get frustrated, creating a negative
emotional feedback loop in themselves
and potentially messing up their day. What
if, instead, you viewed that time as an
opportunity to make some small talk with
the people around you? It’s all about your
mind-set.
DO YOURSELF A FAVOR.
WHEN YOU WAKE UP IN
THE MORNING, SPEND A
FEW MINUTES THINKING
ABOUT HOW YOU GOT
TO THE PLACE THAT
YOU ARE AT CURRENTLY.
THINK ABOUT ALL OF THE
EVENTS—GOOD AND
BAD—AND ALL OF THE
PEOPLE THAT PUT YOU
HERE. FROM THERE, YOU
WILL HAVE A GOOD SENSE
OF HOW YOU WANT TO
HANDLE THINGS IN THE
FUTURE.
This small daily ritual will bring profound
change and positivity into your life. Let’s
be honest—who doesn’t want more of that
in their lives? +