Gratitude works best when it is in motion

It has been a reflective weekend after an incredible first Impactathon on Saturday.

I have been turning over the inspiring experiences, conversations, and unfolding of Saturday’s event. One of the recurring thoughts has to do with gratitude. So many amazing people and organizations made the event a reality.

Inner gratitude

To be grateful can create deep inner fulfillment and peace, to put gratitude in motion, can create exponential impact.

Gratitude in motion

At Impactathon, TechShop generously offered participants opportunities to engage with their impressive maker space through introductory memberships. Tomorrow, participant social entrepreneurs could put that gratitude in motion by developing new skills and using them to solve nuanced problems.

Impactathon speakers John Montgomery, Nathan Pham, Heather Scott Arora, and David Hodgson graciously shared their stories with candor, honesty, and authenticity. Tomorrow, social entrepreneurs could put their gratitude in motion using the insight learned about legal structures for social impact, fundraising social enterprise, and the polarities of distraction from and focus on mission in their own companies and initiatives—which could redefine success for the social enterprise space.

Our volunteers, media, and participants showed up in every way and gave their best to engage and create—astounding themselves and us. Tomorrow, that gratitude could be put in motion through their incremental successes and our ability to share the Impactathon experience with new audiences and forums, and find new ways to empower social entrepreneurs, social intrapreneurs, and informed consumers.

Listen in

You can hear more about the event in this episode of The Impact Podcast by Innov8social recorded live at Impacathon.

How do you put gratitude in motion?

This deeper reflection on gratitude and its ability to catalyze change has also cultivated a unique curiosity. How are individuals, organizations, and companies practicing gratitude, and how does it impact their relationships and work?

I suspect (and from experience) the most gracious scarcely consider it a practice, as it is more their modus operandi; or as John Montgomery mentioned and Heather Arora reiterated in their talks—an ‘operating system powered by love over fear’.