Christine Ackerson of LG Electronics USA: How We Can Leverage The Power Of Gratitude To Improve Our Overall Mental Wellness
Compassion Mindfulness Exercise. Guided meditation exercises are a valuable way to practice gratitude. An exercise I like to use is one created by our partner Inner Explorer, a 10-minute daily exercise that is designed to fill your body with more happiness by focusing on thankfulness and reflecting on the many things in our lives that we’re grateful for despite not having everything we want.
As we all know, times are tough right now. In addition to the acute medical crisis caused by the Pandemic, in our post COVID world, we are also experiencing what some have called a “mental health pandemic”.
What can each of us do to get out of this “Pandemic Induced Mental and Emotional Funk”?
One tool that each of us has access to is the simple power of daily gratitude. As a part of our series about the “How Each Of Us Can Leverage The Power Of Gratitude To Improve Our Overall Mental Wellness” I had the pleasure of interviewing Christine Ackerson.
Christine Ackerson is the Director of Sustainability & Corporate Social Responsibility at LG Electronics North America. In this role she leads program strategy and implementation for environmental, social, and governance activities, as well as community giving programs and stakeholder engagement. With a career spanning nearly 20 years, Christine has experience with a broad range of sustainability topics including climate change, environmental stewardship, human rights, supply chain responsibility, product sustainability, compliance, risk management, health & safety, social impact, and corporate giving. She holds two master’s degrees in earth science and public policy, and has worked with a variety of organizations including the federal government, international organizations, industry associations, advocacy groups, and non-profit organizations. Christine has served on the steering committees of the Responsible Minerals Initiative and the United Nations Global Compact Caring for Climate and Poverty Footprint initiatives.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dive into our discussion, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you share with us the backstory about you and about what brought you to your specific career path?
I have always loved nature, its beauty, and being outdoors. But when I went to college, like so many people that age, I had no idea what I wanted to be ‘when I grew up.’ I took a geology class during my freshmen year and became fascinated with the study of earth science and the natural systems that make life on our planet possible. That was the start of my professional journey to help preserve the environment. I am a mom of three incredible kids, and I am passionate about enjoying life on earth now as well as protecting it for future generations. When I joined LG eight years ago, I had the opportunity to expand my career into corporate and social responsibility including programs to give back to our communities and working with non-profit organizations on our corporate giving program. It is very rewarding to work on both environmental and social issues, and I feel very grateful.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career?
I think one of the most impactful moments in my career was about five years ago when our CEO at the time asked me to help design and launch our first corporate-wide social impact initiative. That was the beginning of the program I am excited to talk with you more about today, the “Life’s Good, Experience Happiness” program. LG’s corporate social impact program is helping to equip teens across the U.S. with social-emotional learning (SEL) resources and curriculum to teach skills that foster sustainable happiness.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Why do you think that resonates with you? Do you have a story about how that was relevant in your life?
The last year has been challenging. The global pandemic, political divisiveness, and social justice issues have been overwhelming. Like so many people, I’ve been working from home since last March, supporting my kids as they adjust to remote learning, and isolated from family and friends. In trying to cope, it’s made me really reflect on what I can control and what I cannot. So, my favorite life lesson quote right now is the one related to “not worrying about the things you cannot control.” That’s easier said than done, but I’m really trying to focus on directing my energy towards the things I can positively influence, and to better cope with the stress and anxiety of the things I can’t. It’s made me appreciate more than ever the simple steps that can be taken to learn and practice skills — including gratitude — that can help change my mindset to better manage stress, become more resilient, and recognize how to be happier.
Is there a particular book that made a significant impact on you? Can you share a story about why that resonated with you?
The latest book I am reading is, “Think Like a Monk — Train Your Mind for Peace and Purpose Every Day,” written by Jay Shetty. Jay is so inspirational, and his practical steps and wisdom for emotional and mental wellness resonate with me and my personal mission right now to better cope with the things I cannot control.
Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?
For the last four years, LG has been partnering with experts in the fields of social & emotional well-being and education. With the help of these partners, LG is working to increase youth access to programs that teach and support sustainable happiness skills while also increasing awareness that happiness skills can be learned, taught and practiced. Our program, Experience Happiness, supports nonprofit partners and educational organizations that provide curriculum, tools and resources to encourage the development of emotional well-being and resiliency in schools across the U.S. Our goal is to reach 5.5 million teens over five years, and I am so proud that we have already reached more than 4 million.
Drawing on research from UC Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center, LG’s Experience Happiness program focuses on teaching six skills for mental wellness: Mindfulness, Human Connection, Positive Outlook, Purpose, Generosity, and Gratitude. Practicing these skills can help change your mindset to feel more joyful and content, handle stress and anxiety with resilience, and engage with others in meaningful and supportive ways.
When school is in session, teens are the most stressed group in the country. This is alarming because overly stressed students tend to do poorly in school, which can reduce their options for success and happiness later in life. The inability to regulate anxiety and cope with stressors can negatively impact a teen’s life including their health, friendships, extracurricular activities, and academic performance. Research shows that schools teaching happiness skills outperform schools that don’t and have fewer instances of bullying, absenteeism, and discipline issues. They also see gains in student engagement, optimism, test scores, and executive functioning.
Amid an isolating global coronavirus pandemic, our social impact program is needed more than ever. The CDC recently released data showing 63% of young adults report symptoms of anxiety or depression, or both, because of the pandemic. Working with our partners, we were able to lean into the Experience Happiness program during the pandemic to expand and scale the digital curriculum to support remote learning environments, as well as make resources available to our employees and their families.
As another way to help raise awareness about the importance of social-emotional learning, especially now, Experience Happiness is also launching a campaign on the UN’s “International Day of Happiness” (March 20) to thank teachers across America for the important role they play in fostering happiness skills in the classrooms. Our teachers are the superheroes supporting the mental wellness of our nation’s youth.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
The biggest thanks go to my family — parents, husband and kids — for their unwavering support and guidance, supporting my career choices, and sharing the responsibilities at home. For the success of LG Experience Happiness, I am so grateful to our partners, my team, and the executives at our company whose support makes this program possible.
Ok, thank you for all that. Now that we are on the topic of gratitude, let’s move to the main focus of our interview. As you know, the collective mental health of our country is facing extreme pressure. We would like to explore together how every one of us can use gratitude to improve our mental wellness. Let’s start with a basic definition of terms. How do you define the concept of Gratitude? Can you explain what you mean?
Gratitude is the simple act of appreciating what is good and thanking others for the goodness that they bring to our lives. It is amazing how many aspects of our everyday lives we end up taking for granted — knowing where our next meals are coming from, family and friends that have our best interests at heart, jobs that help us maintain our lifestyles. Imagine if we gave ourselves a few moments each day to step back and reflect on what we are lucky enough to enjoy and tune into the sources of that goodness in our lives. When gratitude is expressed directly to another person, it is often returned, which creates a cycle of appreciation and warm-hearted connection. Practicing gratitude allows each person to think deeper about the quality relationships they have made, and the key role that human connection plays in our day-to-day comfort, ease, and opportunity. As evidenced by research from the Greater Good Science Center, practicing gratitude and consciously being thankful for what and who is in your life improves physical health, social relationships, and mental wellness.
Why do you think so many people do not feel gratitude? How would you articulate why a simple emotion can be so elusive?
The hardest thing about gratitude is that when times are tough, especially if you are being hit with consistent bad news, it can feel difficult to find the silver lining. During this pandemic, I think many people have experienced a hard time feeling gratitude because even if you are lucky enough to have not caught the virus, there are other factors at play — whether that be job security, mental health challenges, isolation from friends and family, or the multitude of other obstacles people are working to overcome. But what makes gratitude seem so elusive, is that we often forget that there can always be something to be thankful for — regardless of size or prevalence or novelty. It’s in our nature to experience gratitude for the big things that make us feel good, but what about the small things like getting the last slice of pizza from your favorite pizzeria after a hard day — or hearing “thank you” or “I appreciate you” from someone? Yes, gratitude is simple, but remembering to practice gratitude amidst all things can be difficult. The more we practice appreciating the things and people around us, the better our mental health will be as we steer away from thoughts of loneliness, uncertainty, and scarcity.
This might be intuitive to you but I think it will be constructive to help spell it out. Can you share with us a few ways that increased gratitude can benefit and enhance our life?
According to research by Robert Emmons, a pioneer of gratitude science, a daily practice of gratitude has the power to fuel our optimism. Have you ever thought about aspects of your daily life that are good, or wonderful, and then felt yourself become more energized? That is your optimism increasing — we have a more positive outlook on what is possible in life and are more hopeful about our circumstances when we appreciate the things and people that contribute to the goodness in our life. And studies show that increasing gratitude reinforces our basic trust instincts that others have our back and are there to support us, which in turn increases happiness. It just feels good to know that you’re not alone, even when it feels like it sometimes.
Let’s talk about mental wellness in particular. Can you share with us a few examples of how gratitude can help improve mental wellness?
Research on gratitude also shows that being more grateful improves mental wellness by making us better at managing and recovering from unpleasant emotional responses to setbacks, failures, threats, and losses. Think about the last time you practiced gratitude — what did it feel like to you? When we consider what we are grateful for or what brings us joy, we allow ourselves to momentarily let go of the things that are causing us stress or anxiety. At that moment, we are permitting ourselves to focus on our sense of safety, privilege, and opportunity — and that although this season of life is hard, the seasons — and the upsets that have come with it — always change.
Ok wonderful. Now here is the main question of our discussion. From your experience or research, what are “Five Ways That Each Of Us Can Leverage The Power Of Gratitude To Improve Our Overall Mental Wellness”. Can you please share a story or example for each?
In our research, we have found a variety of simple ways that anyone can practice daily gratitude to help recenter and improve their mental wellness and fortify their resilience. There are five easy exercises we can all add to our daily routines.
- Three Good Things Exercise. When we keep track of the good things happening in our lives, we are more likely to garner a positive outlook and sense of gratitude. Developed in collaboration with the Greater Good Science Center, this 10-minute daily exercise helps practice gratitude by writing down three things that went well each day and an explanation as to why they went well. Try to focus on the positive feelings associated with these three things, allowing yourself to move away from whatever negative feelings you also experienced during the day. Although writing down these experiences may feel harder than going over them in your head, having a record of positive moments and feelings is a great way to capture important milestones that you can look back on. This is a perfect exercise to do at the end of the day before bed and gives you a few moments to decompress and focus on positively ending each day.
- Be Thankful Exercise. With the support of Discovery Education, our Be Thankful exercise simply encourages us to take a few moments out of each day to think about all that we are thankful for and, if possible, express that thankfulness to others. As I mentioned before, showing gratitude to others reinforces the importance of human connection in our lives and fuels our optimism as well as theirs.
- Gratitude Letter Exercise. Alongside our partner the Greater Good Science Center, we have found that expressing gratitude to others strengthens our relationships and improves our health and happiness. Through this 30-minute exercise, we are prompted to not only write down what we are grateful for but encouraged to personally thank the people that ignited our gratitude through a written letter. This person could be a relative, friend, colleague or teacher — anyone who comes to mind that is still alive and has brought you happiness, maybe without even knowing. In this letter, share details describing how this individual has helped you, why you are grateful for them and how their behavior affected your life. You then have the opportunity to either recite and deliver this letter in person or via video or phone. This exercise pushes us to express gratitude in a thoughtful, intentional way — possibly to a person we’ve never properly thanked.
- Compassion Mindfulness Exercise. Guided meditation exercises are a valuable way to practice gratitude. An exercise I like to use is one created by our partner Inner Explorer, a 10-minute daily exercise that is designed to fill your body with more happiness by focusing on thankfulness and reflecting on the many things in our lives that we’re grateful for despite not having everything we want.
- Meaningful Photos Exercise. Have you ever noticed how it feels to look back at photos from positive experiences you have had? Through this exercise with the Greater Good Science Center, we encourage participants to take 15 minutes per day over the course of a week to take photos of things or people that are important or make you feel full of purpose. At the end of the week, we encourage participants to upload the photos to their computer or get them developed, for an opportunity to reflect on each photo taken and why it is meaningful.
Is there a particular practice that can be used during a time when one is feeling really down, really vulnerable, or really sensitive?
When one is feeling really down, vulnerable, or sensitive — a place that all of us have been — a really powerful practice is to invoke a sense of awe. Awe is an emotion that occurs when we are in the presence of something extraordinary that challenges our typical expectations and ordinary routines. Awe feels uplifting, tingly, and humbling, and makes us want to share and connect with others. While easy to feel from a mountaintop vista or in front of a world wonder like the pyramids of Giza, people can feel and reap the restorative benefits of awe by just looking closely at things, especially when outdoors. Studies show that taking a short outing outdoors and deliberately noticing patterns in nature, ambient sounds, colors, and smells reduces blood pressure and helps people manage adversity and trauma.
Do you have any favorite books, podcasts, or resources that you would recommend to our readers to help them to live with gratitude?
The Gratitude Project book from Greater Good Science Center
Making Grateful Kids by Froh & Bono
Gratitude Works by Robert Emmons
You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)
If every person could commit to practicing one of the six sustainable happiness skills each day — Gratitude, Generosity, Purpose, Positive Outlook, Human Connection, Mindfulness — I think the world would be a happier place.
What is the best way our readers can further follow your work online?
You can follow our progress to provide 5.5 million youth in the U.S. with sustainable happiness skills on our page: https://lgexperiencehappiness.com/
Thank you for the time you spent sharing these fantastic insights. We wish you only continued success in your great work!
