Gratitude is a big part of who I am. The first time I took the VIA Strengths Inventory, gratitude was my number one character strength. I was taken by surprise. Gratitude? Me? Then I realized–Duh!–I’ve been keeping a gratitude journal for the past fifteen years.
This may be a case of the chicken and the egg.
Am I powered by gratitude because I keep a gratitude journal? Or do I keep a gratitude journal because gratitude fuels and comforts and nourishes me? I don’t know the answer. What I do know is that I carry a deep sense of thankfulness around with me all the time. Even when things are bad. Even when I am hurting. Even when people around me are hurting. I am. Still. Grateful.
That’s because I know there are always gifts.
Gifts of learning. Gifts of support from friends. Gifts of all shapes and sizes. And the proper response when I receive a gift is to say ‘thank you.’ It doesn’t matter whether I’m saying thanks to myself, or someone else, or God, or whomever I credit with Good Things happening to me. The point is that by saying thank you, I acknowledge both the gift and something bigger than myself. Something-larger-than-life that I am connected to and part of, yet do not–cannot–control.
It’s not luck. But it kind of is.
And so that’s why every day is Thanksgiving is to me. But without the pie. Or the weight gain.
And before I go: here are a few things I’m thankful for this year:
- My awesome Fans. You are wonderful, glorious, inspiring people. You are the wind beneath my wings in a very not-corny way.
- Kristina and Shawna who made Mastermind for Productivity a reality.
- Augusto and Dan who, as fellow primates, make having Monkey Mind way more rewarding.
- The 3-Day for giving walking a whole new meaning for me and thousands of others.
- Twitter. Just because.
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