Attitude of Gratitude

My family moved around a lot when I was growing up.  I was involved in the Boy Scout program. I enjoyed scouting, getting outside, going camping and backpacking.  I learned many skills I have used throughout my life.  I had worked towards completing the requirements to earn the Eagle Scout award but it was difficult to be consistent when we moved so often.  The 18th birthday is the deadline for completing the requirements for Eagle Scout.  At 17 and a half years old I was close but had one of the most difficult requirements left to complete, the Eagle project.  I had pretty much given up when an older man I didn’t really know approached me at church and offered encouragement and his help with completing the requirements and submitting the paperwork.  Without his help and encouragement, I wouldn’t have completed my goal to be an Eagle Scout.  

I am grateful for his help.  He helped changed the course of my life and opened many doors and opportunities to work with and give back to youth and to continue my quest for outdoor adventures.  About 20 years after that encounter, I had the opportunity to find the gentleman that had influenced my life in such a profound way with his simple service all those years earlier.  I expressed my gratitude for his kindness and service and tried to convey how that one act had put me on a path of service to others in an attempt to pay it forward.  He has since passed away but I will always remember the twinkle in his eye and the humble manner in which he had listened to my stories and expressions of gratitude for his help.

We have been through a couple of difficult years where life and work has changed as a result of the COVID pandemic.  Now is a good time to be thankful and grateful for where we are and what we have.  A colleague mentioned an article containing information about several studies showing that those with an attitude of gratitude are more optimistic and feel better about their lives. Some of the statistics mentioned are:

• Gratitude is related to a 10% improvement in sleep quality and 19% lower depression levels for patients with chronic pain. 

• Gratitude is related to 23% lower levels of stress hormones (cortisol).  

• Practicing gratitude led to a 7% reduction in biomarkers of inflammation in patients with congestive heart failure.

• Grateful people have 10-16% lower blood pressure.

• Writing letters of gratitude reduced feeling of hopelessness in 88% of suicidal inpatients and increased levels of optimism in 94% of them.

• Other studies show how gratitude can improve relationships.  Individuals who took time to express gratitude for their partner felt more positive toward the other person and also felt more comfortable expressing concerns about their relationship.

Expressing gratitude to others also provides encouragement and improves the life of those we are grateful for. 

How Can We Put Gratitude Into Practice?

1. Write a thank-you note.

2. Express your gratitude to those around you

3. Keep a regular gratitude journal

4. Count your blessings daily

5. Meditate/Pray

These types of activities, if practiced consistently, serve to make gratitude a natural part of your day, will improve the quality of your life dramatically and could possibly just make another person’s day a lot better.

Intermountain Medical drones may allow a new path forward for distributors

Electric drones are becoming an increasingly viable option for distributors as technology is improving to allow accurate cost-effective delivery. Intermountain Healthcare is becoming a pioneer of this new drone technology to deliver medications throughout the Salt Lake Valley. The Zipline drones used are able to deliver 40 lb packages within a 50-mile radius of the, now under construction, South Jordan flight center. The drones are accurate enough to deliver on most people's driveways and the second-generation drones include swappable batteries that allow for continuous operation. These improvements in the technology could allow for faster reactions to consumers who expect quick deliveries while giving distributors an opportunity to cut out emissions and traffic.

For more information on the Intermountain Medical project you can click the source link below.

Rising Gas Prices and what that means for Businesses and Consumers

Since sanctions from the United Nations on Russia were set, the average price of Diesel in the United States has risen from an average of $3.97 a month ago to $5.10 which is a dramatic 22% monthly rise and a 39% rise over the past year. This, in turn, affects not only the individual but also logistics companies. 

Logistics for small and large companies were already facing quite the challenge with the lasting impacts that the pandemic had. As companies looked to move forward from the pandemic, war with Russia will again test companies’ ability to pivot and make an adjustment based on what is most cost-effective. One potential means will come from options that do not burn as much fuel such as rail usage and updating systems to maximize energy efficiency such as renovating old HVAC, building idle-free trucking stations, and switching to electric dock equipment.

While transitioning to energy and cost-saving measures, it can be expected that we will see inflated costs for consumers continuing especially as the US is not the only country experiencing this rise in energy. The European Union was getting 25% of their oil from Russia and is now seeing fuel prices rising over 50% which is significant as half of the costs incurred for logistics are from transportation and shipping.

Whether it is being domestically shipped via roadways, put in a container and sent to the US on a container vessel, or flown in via cargo ships, the prices of fuel and goods are on the rise worldwide and trending upwards for the near future. 

Significant industrial growth in Salt Lake County

The results of an IPG square foot per person (SF/person) industrial study found significant growth in Salt Lake County to 118 SF/person even as flex and retail space shrinks.

Salt Lake County is set to see a 6% increase of industrial SF/person this year with a record 10 million SF set to be delivered. From 2012 to 2017, industrial SF/person remained steady until, in 2018, a 1.9% rise broke the trend. For the next 3 years, the growth per person rose by an average of 2% but the market has remained underwhelmed so far as vacancies lowered to 2% within that time period. Utah's industrial supply as a whole also saw gains over the past years but the rapid growth of the state has kept the average statewide SF/person increases surprisingly conservative even with 2021's significant construction deliveries in Salt Lake County.

There is evidence of multiple reasons that Salt Lake County has been growing so quickly; increased centralization for shipping to Utah consumers, the change from retail to online fulfillment, companies switching from just-in-time to just-in-case shipping strategies, re-shoring of manufacturing from overseas, and increases in inland port shipping through Utah facilities to exterior states. These contributing factors could all be responsible for increased industrial SF per person.