Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. I love the focus on food. I love that it’s centered on family and friends. I love that it forces us all to think about and acknowledge gratitude.

Gratitude is a powerful emotion. When we experience gratitude, we mostly focus on things we have. We’re grateful for family, our friends, our health, our house, our careers, etc. When we do that, it can help us melt away the stressor that we experience because our perspective shifts.

It’s good to acknowledge things that we have and show gratitude for them. When we can simply keep focused on being grateful for what we do have, it makes it easier for us to handle and deal with the negative life events.

My advice for you, dear reader, is to look around and to sit with what you’re truly grateful for during this holiday week. Write it down, reflect, meditate, pray, whatever it works for you so that you can get in touch with genuine gratitude. As I am writing this, I’m going through the reflection process. (So thanks for being a participant in my gratitude journey!!)

I’m grateful to be a Dad. Being a parent has its challenges, no doubt. Yet, it comes with a lot of joy. Over the past couple of months, my 1.5-year-old has bonded with me. We are laughing and playing together. My 5 year old continues to grow in her empathy and leadership. She is brave, resilient, full of energy and a light for many of the people she encounters.

I’m grateful for a wife that brings out the best in me. In the recent weeks, she’s been out of town on a few occasions. My nutritional and exercise routines suffer. My productivity suffers. She creates an environment of accountability that is not through her doing anything except being present. When I’m faced with decisions to be made, I have to consider if I want her to see me do it (like eating Hersey’s Syrup from the carton 😱). I have better discipline, which turns into better habits. Then, I get to be more of the person that I want to be for myself so that I can give that to others. She’s in my corner encouraging me through words, action, and presence.

I’m grateful for clients that trust me. Coaching people is not often for the faint of heart. It requires some digging deep and “going there.” And it takes two to tango! The clients that I get to work with allow our relationship to be open and honest enough to have tough love conversations and work together on exercises that tap into the unconscious mind. It’s not always comfortable so I’m grateful for the trust and for the results!

I’m grateful to be alive right now. What an incredible time to live. Information is at our fingertips. The digital age has democratized and provided a path for knowledge and growth to and from far corners of the earth. There’s more human awareness and compassion than there’s ever been. While humanity has gaps to fill, I’m grateful to be living in the age that we are.

Finally, I’m grateful that you’re reading this! I mean that! I write these posts each week for two reasons: #1: Selfishly, I get to learn more about the subject from researching and sharing; #2: To make an impact in someone’s business and life. I trust this and/or other posts over the past year have done just that in ways that may be small or even large.

Enjoy your Thanksgiving week. Eat all the turkey, laugh and love fully with friends and family. Rest. Recharge. Fill your bucket with grateful energy and see how that propels you to a successful finish to the year and a springboard to success in the new year.