Gratitude Overflows in the Glass of Social Entrepreneurship

By Guest Blogger, Jess Stohlmann

This month, the Carson J Spencer Foundation is celebrating our core value of gratitude. Gratitude is an emotion expressing appreciation for what one has. It is what gets poured into the glass to make it half full, and increases the wellbeing and happiness of those who cultivate it.  In addition, grateful thinking—and especially expression of it to others—increases energy, optimism, and empathy.

As social entrepreneurs, gratitude is central to our work. Friedrich Nietzsche once said, “The essence of all beautiful art, all great art, is gratitude.” If we replace ‘art’ in his quote with ‘social entrepreneurship,’ it rings equally true. Gratitude shifts the focus from what is lacking to the abundance that is already present.

Shifting focus from weakness to strengths is at the core of social enterprise. Social entrepreneurs celebrate the gifts of both for profit and for impact sectors by utilizing the strengths of each to solve the root causes of social issues. We look upstream to the root of problems, and then draw on the strengths of our community, entrepreneurship, and empathy to make the glass half full – or even all the way full.

I love the “full glass” metaphor; it allows us to really think about what we are bringing to the table and how to combine the efforts of others for the benefit of all. When I think about our glass right now, here is what I imagine it filled with: strong partnerships, passion for our cause, skilled leadership, innovative ideas, and practical solutions. That glass is pretty full to me. Having a full glass opens up opportunities that we never thought possible. That is what social enterprise is really about – using gratitude to recognize the value of all the things we have and bringing our glass full of possibilities to the table.