The NJ Police Chief Magazine Volume 24, Number 6 | Page 5

The New Jersey Police Chief Magazine | September 2018
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S REPORT
MITCHELL C. SKLAR
Gratitude
Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all others.
-- Marcus Tullius Cicero
Nearly everyone understands what it means to be grateful, but I think we can all agree that
in the whirlwind of a busy everyday life, with its ups and downs, it is not particularly easy to
keep in mind the importance of this ‘greatest of virtues.”
According to Psychology Today, the simple act of being grateful has many benefits, including improvement of
physical and psychological health, better sleep, increase in mental strength, and improvement with satisfaction
with one’s life. But what exactly do we mean by “gratitude”? The best definition that I have come across is from
the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence:
Gratitude is a state of mind that arises when you affirm a good thing in your life that comes from outside
yourself, or when you notice and relish little pleasures. Though some people and things are clear blessings,
this state of mind doesn’t actually depend on your life circumstances…. [G]gratitude is not just a feeling
outside your control that arrives willy-nilly. It’s more like a radio channel: you can choose at any time to
tune in. i
This particular topic did not just appear out of nowhere for me. As many of our readers may know, a few months
ago I was suddenly faced with a serious and significant health-related challenge, from w hich I am only now just
recovering. I freely admit that for quite a bit of that time I was not feeling particularly grateful about my lot in
life, or just about anything for that matter. I can’t say that I had some sort of epiphany or spontaneous outburst
of gratitude, but slowly, almost imperceptibly, I found myself feeling thankful just to be alive. This quickly led to a
feeling of real gratitude for all the blessings in my life, both great and small. And I can vouch for the above
mentioned benefits (and many more) of the simple act of being grateful.
As John F. Kennedy said, “We must find time to stop and thank the people who make a difference in our
lives.” Most pertinent to our readers, I want to express my deep gratitude to our Association Board of Officers for
their unstinting support and encouragement, and for the way they looked after my family during what was an
incredibly difficult time. I am also grateful to our Deputy Executive Director Bill Nally for the tremendous job he
did during my absence, and in fact I owe a debt of gratitude to our entire Association staff for the terrific job they
always do, and in particular for keeping the organization moving forward.
I am deeply grateful to the many, many Association members and other colleagues for the expressions of
concern, the positive thoughts and prayers, and general encouragement and support shown to me and my family.
These will, I can assure you, never be forgotten.
And of course, as I have been for nearly 20 years, I am grateful for the opportunity to be the Executive Director
of this important, dynamic, and highly respected Association.
Mitchell C. Sklar, Esq.
Executive Director
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Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence, http://ei.yale.edu/what-is-gratitude/
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