Gratitude is More Than Just a Bullet Point
Many people see putting together a business plan as a long, dry, onerous task with little room for gratitude. I’ve heard a lot of opinions on what does and does not constitute a good one. One person who claimed to excel in the process actually told me a good one had to be at least 100 pages long! In 100 pages, I could probably tell you how to design a rocket engine. (OK, maybe that’s an exaggeration, but so is a 100 page plan for a small business).
Like anything else, a business plan is a tool; nothing more, nothing less. It helps focus attention on the goal, the plan, and the steps that are currently visible in getting to the ultimate goal. The problem is, life isn’t a straight, flat road where you can always see what lies ahead. So why should designing what is essentially a road map for a business be any different?
The way I see it, no matter how much research you put into it, there will always be things you overlooked when you drew that map. Life will throw you a few curve balls which force you to alter some of those plans. Whether it’s a product or service that becomes unavailable, time you didn’t factor in, or something that halts your process or production altogether, things happen.
Make it Flexible
The smart money builds flexibility into the plan. It allows for delays and detours. It recognizes
sometimes you have to do a complete re-engineering to get your rocket ship off the ground and into orbit. But no matter how much you allow for, it’s more than likely, there will be something completely unexpected that calls for creative thinking, and sometimes an ability to put aside fears when it seems like everything is tumbling down around you.
One element I don’t typically see in a business plan is gratitude. It’s not really something you can plan for, but in my opinion, it’s something that can help you over the trouble spots. Allowing time in your schedule to recognize and appreciate what you have accomplished, and what has gone right is the best way I know to clear the head and push doubts and fears that might be derailing you to the back of the bus where they belong.
It’s OK to listen to the fears as far as keeping your eyes peeled for hazards. But when they start to drive instead of merely suggesting caution, they’re clogging up the works and holding you back from reaching goals which remain attainable, if with a bit of tweaking. Greasing the wheels with a little gratitude will gently but firmly put the fears back where they belong.
Step Back and Appreciate Your Motivators
Everyone hits a wall from time to time. You push and push, trying to get your idea from concept to reality. There are times you feel like you’re moving backwards. That’s when you need to take the time to step back and look at the entire path from where you started to where you are now. Not just look at it, but give yourself credit for the effort, the perseverance, the initiative, the skill, and the strength it took to travel so far. That’s when gratitude really raises the bar.
When you express gratitude for all the tiny things which made it possible for you to get this far, you begin to see what an amazing thing you’re doing, and how many factors had to line up to make that trip possible. And not just things which are obviously good like training, insight, or a skill you acquired along the way. Also include those things which, at the time seemed like a drop kick to the curb.
Things like a boss who never promoted you even though you were the hardest working, most skilled option he had. The company you really liked working for that went belly up leaving you looking for another job. The time your job had become so routine you felt like you were losing IQ points every time you sat down at your desk. Those things and more gave you the inspiration and courage to set off on your own. Would you even be here if those elements hadn’t conspired to convince you to be your own boss? So why not throw a little gratitude their way?
Can Gratitude Be the Missing Element?
By now, you’re probably asking why or how you’d go about putting gratitude into your business 
plan. I mean, you could stop and be grateful any time, right? But do you? When things are the most frustrating, would you think about stopping and listing a few things you’re grateful for? Probably not. You’re more likely to dig your heels in and try to figure out how to overcome the latest obstacle.
If you add a step called gratitude to those plans and processes, it would ultimately become automatic to stop in the midst of your work to be grateful for what you’ve done. You’d become accustomed to taking a step back periodically to assess and appreciate what you’ve done without judgement or criticism. Without wondering why you hadn’t accomplished more and met every one of the aggressive goals you set for yourself.
Distracting Yourself
Most people work best without distractions whether it’s email, phone calls, co-workers with questions, or personal frustration. And yes, personal frustration is a distraction. It takes you out of solution mode and into a place where I guarantee you’ll spend far too much time spinning your wheels, and where the demons who insist it can’t be done are lurking, ready to derail your entire operation for their personal amusement.
Scheduling regular appreciation breaks may not eliminate frustration entirely, but it will keep it from reaching the breaking point. And who knows? While you’re busy being grateful, you might even figure out where your process went off the rails, or what’s been sucking up too much time with too little benefit. I don’t know of any business, large or small that won’t benefit from a little perspective that improves efficiency.
In a nutshell, building time for gratitude into your business plan will ultimately keep you from getting so absorbed in the details you lose your overall perspective. That’s a long, dark tunnel none of us wants to travel because it means you’ll have to retrace your steps just to get back to where your struggles began. Talk about a waste of time and effort! I can’t think of anything less efficient.
As for me, I’ll be revisiting my business plan to see where I can inject a little gratitude time to keep things running more smoothly and efficiently from now on. Maybe you’ll do the same.
About the Author
Sheri Conaway is a Holistic Ghostwriter, and an advocate for cats and mental health. Sheri 
believes in the Laws of Attraction, but only if you are a participant rather than just an observer. Her mission is to Make Vulnerable Beautiful and help entrepreneurs touch the souls of their readers and clients so they can increase their impact and their income. If you’d like to have her write for you, please visit her Hire Me page for more information. You can also find her on Facebook Sheri Levenstein-Conaway Author. And check out her new group, Putting Your Whole Heart Forward.
Be sure to watch this space for news of the upcoming releases of ” Rebuilding After Suicide” and “Sasha’s Journey”.
