Now through Oct. 19, the Resilience Employee Resource Group (ERG) is inviting Tech employees to participate in the 30 Days of Gratitude Happiness Campaign.

Acting on feedback from Resilience ERG members interested in programs that focused on happiness and gratitude, the campaign was initiated by Carol Subiño Sullivan, faculty development specialist with the Center for Teaching and Learning and a member of the Resilience ERG leadership team. 

Sullivan took inspiration from friends who recently participated in a social media campaign. Each day for a month, they posted a sentence or two about something they were happy about or grateful for. 

“Whether a small moment in their day or a deeper tribute to an important person in their lives, no entry was too big or too small,” she said. Sullivan also drew inspiration from The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin. In it, Rubin recounts how she spent a year focusing on ways to make her life happier. Each month, she focused on a different area of happiness, including energy, marriage, work, parenting, leisure, friendship, money, eternity, books, mindfulness, and attitude. She created a list of actions she would take to work toward becoming happier, and she spent time each day blogging about her experiences. 

Both Rubin and Sullivan’s friends found that they gained a lot from going through the process.

“Because they were sharing their experiences with others, they also benefited from the support of community,” Sullivan said. “Whether you focus on one area or simply notice small, happy moments as they come up each day, commit to checking in daily and sharing your thoughts.”

Then, participants can mark their calendars for Oct. 26 from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., when employees will gather for a wrap-up event to celebrate the happiness created.

To join the campus happiness project:

• Go to https://mahara.gatech.edu.
• Log in with your Georgia Tech credentials.
• Enter “resilience” in the search bar.
• Choose Resilience ERG 30 Days of Gratitude Happiness Campaign from the list.

The Resilience ERG is intended to be a peer empowerment group for employees who want to proactively pursue “wholehearted living” and/or give attention to the complexities of their experiences; manage the impact of adversity; turn adversity into opportunity; and effectively adapt to change. It is one of six ERGs at Georgia Tech designed to support the Institute’s goal of ensuring like-minded employees can enhance their employment experience and have a greater sense of belonging. 

The six ERGs are GRIOT (African Heritage), HOLA (Hispanics/Latinos), Web of Brilliance (Introverts), PRIDE (LGBTQIA), Resilience, and Women of Georgia Tech. To learn more about ERGs, visit diversity.gatech.edu/erg.