Is Gratitude Enough This Season? Two Ways to Restore Well-Being
Linda Roszak Burton, ACC, HWBC, BBC, BS
Published: 11/18/2025
The end of the year is full of celebration...and exhaustion. For philanthropy teams navigating staffing challenges, high demand, and emotional fatigue, the holidays can feel like a final uphill push rather than a moment of peace. And, while the importance of health and well-being is understood, there remains a need for deep and insightful strategies to move along the continuum from burnout to what researchers refer to as thriving or flourishing.
With the upcoming holiday season comes rich traditions and anticipated celebrations, which can add another layer of stress for philanthropy teams facing emotional fatigue, especially following an already busy year of campaigns, stewardship events, and community needs. So, how do we stay true to the holiday themes of gratitude and giving when many are suffering or, at best, languishing (as psychologist Adam Grant refers to feeling ‘meh’)?
Why Gratitude?
Gratitude IS powerful. Giving thanks helps us to pause, notice what’s good in our lives, and appreciate those who make our lives better. Research shows that gratitude does far more than make us feel good. Various gratitude interventions have been shown to:
- Lower depressive symptoms and perceived stress
- Enhance sleep quality and reduce blood pressure
- Reduce emotional exhaustion, depression
- Increase subjective happiness and improve work-life balance.
But it’s worth asking: is gratitude enough for this year, for this holiday season and into the new year, considering the extreme levels of overwhelm and loneliness, the fear and anxiety many are experiencing?
Why Giving?
There’s a second, equally important kind of giving: giving to others. Not through gifts, but through small actions that uplift someone else’s well-being. These actions include offering help, being kind, listening, or simply being present for others. This could take the shape of helping a colleague prepare for a donor meeting or taking time to recognize the impact of a volunteer. When we examine the social dimension of well-being, we also consider social contribution. Not surprisingly, helping others is one of the most reliable ways to improve our own emotional, mental, and social well-being, as well as that of others.
A Holiday Challenge
Here’s my challenge for you, beginning today:
- Express gratitude for one person, experience or thing that you’re grateful.
- Choose one act of giving. Maybe it’s giving a hurried parent your place in the check-out line or offering help to a coworker so you both can leave work at the same time or deeply listening to a patient as they describe their fears or concerns.
- Write down both experiences each day for the next two weeks. A journal or notebook works great; for the truly organized, an Excel spreadsheet will work perfectly.
Gratitude Hint: To express genuine gratitude beyond saying thank you, whether in writing or verbally, it’s helpful to use this outline:
- Name it, i.e., the person or experience you are grateful for.
- Explain how you benefited, and why it’s meaningful.
- Capture possible sacrifices made on your behalf.
Giving to Others Hint: After choosing a daily act of giving, simply list the way you were helpful or useful to others in your journal, notebook, etc. To make follow-through easier, despite daily distractions, one of my clients created a list before starting the challenge, outlining actions to stay focused throughout the day.
- Did you help a coworker or family member feel less anxious?
- Did you help a colleague who was overwhelmed?
- Did you smile and say hello while walking past someone in the hallway?
Most likely, you give more to others than you realize.
Together, Let’s Make Gratitude and Generosity Our Well-Being Formula.
Please share this video challenge, Is Gratitude Enough? , with your team member, family, and friends. Imagine the impact your gratitude and generosity will make this season and into 2026.