This week, people across America will be celebrating Thanksgiving. Some will gather with family, some with friends. Many will be watching football, a Thanksgiving tradition, whether you go to watch your local high school rivalry or catch a game on TV. However you decide to recognize this holiday, please stop long enough to answer this question, “What are you truly thankful for?”
It’s a simple question, but one that requires thought to have a genuine, heartfelt, and meaningful answer.
You can be thankful that you have many things that you might overlook. Your health. A home. A family and friends. A job. Any or all of the above.
As a cancer survivor, I remain thankful every day since that diagnosis that I get to wake up, live, and work. I get to spend another day with the love of my life, Lorena. Outside my window, I have the privilege of a view of the coast that takes my breath away.
I am thankful for the clients who have given me the honor of working with them and their new home sales teams. They allow me to do what I love, to impact lives, and help people find success. Many of these clients stayed with me when my health wasn’t strong enough to support them. But they supported me.
Most of all, I remind myself daily that God has blessed me with the power to make choices. He has granted me patience, maybe not enough of it, but I try to use it wisely. God has also given me the gift of curiosity that drives me to keep learning, which enables me to make educated choices.
Around the world, we have all struggled with the changes that erupted in 2020. For those of us who survived, give thanks that you did. Say a prayer for nearly 800,000 people who succumbed to COVID.
How to be thankful
Take a gratitude inventory. Look inward and then look around you. As you count your blessings, don’t keep your gratitude inventory in your head. Write it down.
Look on the bright side. Let go of negativity. When it slips in, kick it out. When someone angers you, find the silver lining. “At least, I don’t have to share that anger.” “I’m blessed to have my own perspective.” You are the master of your mindset. Don’t let others take that away from you.
Say” thank you” a lot. Call or text people who contribute to your gratitude. You’ll both feel good.
Use all five senses to find gratitude. Tap into smell, sight, sound, taste, and touch. Identify at least one thing in each sense that makes you feel thankful. The smell of fresh-baked bread. The sight of the sun setting over the horizon. The sound of children laughing. The taste of really great coffee first thing in the morning.The feeling of soft sand under your toes on the beach.
Be more aware. Try a broader perspective on finding gratitude. Be grateful for a good parking space on a rainy day. And be grateful for that rain, because it refreshes life.
I wish all of you a Happy Thanksgiving, and a year full of blessings, big and small.
