Sparking a Gratitude Movement: From Recovery to the Workplace

A pin that says "You Rock!" along with a note to pass a pin on to someone else.

Planting the Seeds of Gratitude

Earlier this year, I started a Happiness Committee at work after reading Big Potential by Shawn Achor. It kicked off with one meeting and a Teams channel.

The "You Rock" Pin Initiative

Since April, I have been handing out some pins that say, “You Rock” (after all I work for a company intrinsically tied to music and I love a good pun)! Each person is given a pin along with an ask, to give a second pin to someone personally or professionally to also tell them that they rock! I’m hoping it starts a bit of a grass roots movement to spread joy and gratitude into the world.

An Unexpected Lesson in Healing and Gratitude

My larger gratitude journey though actually started with ducks.

In February 2024, I checked into Overlook Hospital for an inpatient test where they would slowly lower my anticonvulsant medication to see if I would have any seizure activity that could be captured on a video EEG. Mostly it captured me reading, watching HGTV, crying, and singing along to the Usher Super Bowl Halftime Show. I ended up being at Overlook for 7 days to the test. My brain surgery was scheduled for February 13^th, which meant I would be in the hospital for Valentine’s Day. I shopped on my phone to make sure Jackie would have a gift to open at home on Valentine’s Day. I also purchased some rubber ducks wearing sunglasses with the words “You are ducking awesome” and other similar phrases. James brought the ducks to Overlook during one of our lunchtime visits. I then constructed little bags that contained a card and a duck. My room was just outside the nurses station, so I was able to beckon someone to my bed (I was a fall risk given my seizure background so I couldn’t just get up out of bed). I gave the nurse a large box of the ducks along with a sign that thanked all the nurses and techs on the neural floor and the care they provide to the patients (maybe I am biased but the neural floor seems like a rather difficult floor). I gave the nurse the box the morning of February 13^th when I had to move out of the room I had stayed in for 7 days. I was then taken downstairs to pre-op, then the OR, and then I spent the night in the neuro ICU after my surgery. By midday on February 14^th I was back on the regular neural floor and everyone was thanking me for the ducks, to which I said- the thanks is all mine for the care and the company they gave me during my time there. I was discharged on February 15^th and everyone said goodbye to me as the ‘duck lady.’

The Ripple Effect of Saying Thank You

I then took ducks to my neurosurgeon’s office for my post-op appointment. A year later one of the nurses and my neurosurgeon thanked me for the ducks they still had. It felt good to thank people for saving my life and providing care to me and all the patients on the neural floor who may not be capable of saying thank you depending on their neural medical history.

So, the ducks lead me to the pins and the pins have lead me to a slow ripple of gratitude and joy in my life and my communities.

Here is my challenge to you, what are you going to do to spread more gratitude and joy in your life and in your communities?