Leading with Gratitude

Gina Messina, Ph.D. 07/12/2021

Gratitude is often overlooked as a critical aspect of leadership. We spend many of our waking hours at work and as a leader, you are responsible for creating a culture where both you and employees thrive. Gratitude cultivates the mental attitude and temperament necessary for effective leadership. It shifts the tone of the workplace so that employees feel appreciated and are inspired to be part of the big picture. Research demonstrates that gratitude offers physical, psychological, and social benefits: Gratitude leads to stronger immune systems, lower blood pressure, better sleep, and motivation to care for one’s self. Being thankful produces joy, happiness, optimism, and overall positive emotions; it also allows us to feel more alert and aware of our surroundings.Grounding in gratitude results in more generous,…

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Categories: Happiness, Leadership & Career Advancement, Wellness & Personal Growth

Tags: gratitude, happiness, leadership, optimism, organizational culture, wellness

Gina Messina, Ph.D.

How to Give Your Immune System a Boost Through Healthy Eating

With parties, barbecues, and playdates, it can be difficult to avoid the germs escaping coughs and sneezes from your peers, colleagues or family members. However, there are several ways you can build up your immune system to combat sickness and sniffles. One method is to incorporate healthy eating habits into your routine. The Importance of Nutrition for the Immune System Your immune system works hard to protect your body from harmful viruses, bacteria and parasites. It uses innate immunity as the first line of defense, including barriers like skin, mucus, stomach acid and enzymes. However, if a microbe slips through, your body will use its adaptive immunity to target the substance and zap it out of your system. The adaptive immune system will then remember…

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Mia Barnes 06/05/2023

woman looking up at sky thinking, showing mental performance

Mental performance and you: 10 things you need to know

Our mental performance, how we think, analyze, and perceive the world, influences how we work, tackle challenges, relate to others, manage stress and more. Where we choose to put our focus has a tremendous impact on how we feel and perform in our day-to-day lives. Julie Jones, Mental Performance Coach and Institute instructor, specializes in helping people boost their mental game, and in teaching them how mental training, positivity and self-awareness can help us do better in our jobs, our personal lives, as leaders, as athletes, and as members of the community. As a former Division I softball coach, Julie specializes in training athletes in mental performance techniques. The same brain strategies that can help a softball player improve her swing can help us all…

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Institute Editorial Team 08/02/2021

5 Wellness Trend Predictions for 2023

One of the most rewarding parts of my job as Heinen’s Registered Dietitian is introducing loyal, health-conscious customers to new developments in wellness. I sat down with our Wellness category experts to learn all about coming trends in 2023 based on their research. Get the inside scoop on each of these trends, plus top Fx-friendly products to help you move the needle towards a healthier you in the new year! Trend #1 Immune Health: Quercetin & Mushrooms The fact that people continue seeking ways to improve their immune health even though the pandemic is behind us, is evidence that fear is a powerful motivator. Because the immune system is our first line of defense against disease (including viral and bacterial infections), strengthening it should be…

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Institute Editorial Team 12/12/2022

Put Down the Scrub Brush for a Moment and Clean Your Life Up with Gratitude

I was curious, so I did a quick Internet search to investigate how many hours we spend, on average, cleaning our homes. What I found was many different results ranging from one hour per day for the average person, to seven hours per week for parents, to two hours per day for women, and to about 20 hours per week for full-time working women. Wow. When you really think about it, we spend a lot of time cleaning (perhaps some of us more than others!). The good news is that cleaning has been found to promote mental health (although I’m not so sure I want my partner to know this!). Cleaning helps us gain a sense of mastery and control over our environment, calms the…

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Jessica Headley, Ph.D., LPCC-S 05/09/2022

Empathy Makes You a Better Leader: Here are 3 Reasons Why

Empathy makes you a better leader. In general, women are perceived to be the most “empathetic” gender, and the science says there may be some truth to that perception. One study found that women are better at feeling others’ pain; female brains react more to images or videos of a person being in pain than male brains. It turns out that high empathy is a very positive thing for women in the workplace, especially if they’re in leadership positions. A recent report by Catalyst found that, especially in the post-pandemic workplace, empathy is a critical leadership skill that influences important factors like innovation and employee satisfaction. There’s no doubt about it: empathy is a necessary skill to have as a leader. Here are 3 benefits…

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Gina Messina, Ph.D. 01/17/2022

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