While everyone is excited about Thanksgiving and all the festivities, I am excited because I know what Thanksgiving is really about. What I will tell you is that it is about more than turkey, stuffing, and all the trimmings that we will enjoy on Thanksgiving Day. Essentially, Thanksgiving is about having a perspective shift and focusing on what is really important in your life. I'm excited because at least for one day everyone will be focused on gratitude. However, a truly powerful life is born from the realization that gratitude is not limited to a season or bound by a specific time. Gratitude should become a way of life and one of the main pillars that you build your life upon. I hope these insights will inspire you to give thanks and live with a grateful heart!
- You cannot be grateful as long as you are selfish. As many of you know, I lost a dear friend of mine over ten years ago in November just a few weeks away from Thanksgiving. At the time, I was writing for a major publication and on a very tight deadline. If I am being honest, I did not feel like writing and I could care less about the deadline. Overcome with emotion and tears streaming down my face I started to reflect on life and I started to write. While it was challenging to write as my laptop was covered in my tears, I started to give thanks even amid great tragedy and losing a dear friend. I gave thanks to God for bringing this friend into my life. I gave thanks for the life of my friend. Then I gave thanks for the time that I was able to get with my friend. The more I gave thanks the more the grief started to lift off of me. It dawned on me that I was being selfish. I was making this tragedy about me instead of transforming it into a moment of profound gratitude. It's impossible to be grateful and selfish at the same time. It is not hard to focus on yourself. On the other hand, it is not always easy to focus on other people. When you let go of selfishness, you are empowered to serve and make a difference in the lives of others. This holiday season I want to challenge you to stop living your life for self-preservation and start living your life to serve those around you with purpose and compassion. It will change your heart and it will ultimately change your life.
- You must choose gratitude. Many people have looked at my life over the years and assumed that everything was perfect. However, as they had an opportunity to talk with me and hear about my journey, I could see the shock and the amazement when I told them of all the adversity and challenges I have had to overcome. The thing that baffles so many people about me is my ability to maintain an optimistic outlook even when faced with great opposition and contradictions. The only answer I can give you is that I chose gratitude. This brings me to a very important point: gratitude is an attitude that you must cultivate in your life. Honestly, everything is not going to go your way in life. You will get knocked down, you will fail, you will be disappointed and you will have setbacks. However, that is not what ultimately defines you. The thing that will define you is how you respond to the circumstances in your life. You can choose to be a victim of circumstances and you will live a defeated life. More importantly, you can choose to overcome your circumstances and you can experience a life of victory. The point I am trying to make is that you always have the power to choose. You can choose life or death. You can choose joy or sorrow. Furthermore, you can choose peace or despair. I want you to choose gratitude. One thing I am certain of is that you will never regret being grateful.
- Take time to write down things that you are grateful for. For more than twenty years, I have kept a gratitude journal. When I first started years ago, I will admit that it was challenging to write down things that I was grateful for. As time went on, I committed to writing down at least five things that I was grateful for every single day. After more than twenty years, my gratitude lists have become longer and much more detailed. What I noticed is that the more I affirmed what I was grateful for the more my perspective about life changed. I found myself unbothered by things that once distracted me. Moreover, I found myself more centered, more compassionate, and more connected to what really matters in life. On Thanksgiving Day, many families around the world will go around the table and say something that they are grateful for. Instead of limiting this to one day a year, I want to challenge you to take time every single day to write down something that you are grateful for. From decades of experience, I can tell you that whatever you affirm you attract into your life. Most people spend all their time discussing what they do not want in their lives and what they do not have. However, I choose to talk about what I want to see in my life and all the wonderful blessings that I already have. This simple but powerful exercise will change the way that you look at your life forever!
- Make gratitude a way of life. While there is so much I can say about gratitude, I have to bring this piece to an end. Anyone who really knows me will tell you that I am one of the most grateful people that you will ever meet. I know what it is like to have little. In addition, I know what it is like to have much. Before abundance ever became a reality in my life, it first became a reality in my mind. People see my success today and they marvel. However, I always tell people that this journey has not been easy. I've had my share of adversity and challenges along the way. In all my experiences, I have concluded that I may not be grateful for everything that has happened in my life. However, I have chosen to be grateful in the midst of everything that is happening in my life. Gratitude is one of the most powerful forces on the planet. Not only does it change your paradigm and challenge your perspective, but gratitude opens the heart space, anchors you in a new reality, and shows you how abundantly blessed you are. Gratitude is not just a force but a life pillar that changed the course of my life forever. If you embrace gratitude as a way of life, there is no mountain that you cannot move, no storm that you cannot calm, and no opposition that you cannot overcome. Dare to embrace gratitude as a way of life because it really does change everything!
