Thanksgiving is coming. One of the best holidays there is.
And for one day, most of us will stop and try to name what we're thankful for. We'll go around the table. We'll mean it.
But let me ask you a question, and it's one I ask myself: do we have to wait until Thanksgiving to be intentional about it? Or do you wake up each morning, and go to bed each night, with the things you're grateful for right at the top of your mind?
The question is the rep
Here's today's rep, and it's a simple one. Not easy - simple.
Am I thankful, or am I thinking otherwise?
When I start my day, do I start it with an attitude of gratitude? Is there any gratitude in me through the middle of the day? Is my focus on the things I can be thankful for? Or do I slide into criticism - which leads to more negative thinking, which leads to actions that bring more negative outcomes?
If you're human, you struggle with this at times. I do. We all do.
Notice something about this rep, though. It's a question, not an answer. We go looking for shiny lures - the quick tip, the hack, the answer somebody else hands us. The reality is we've got to step back, get one-on-one with ourselves, and answer the question honestly. Nobody can do that part for you.
Where my bar for gratitude came from
I'll be honest with you - I've trained this one a lot. And a big reason is how I grew up.
I was raised by a single mom who raised three kids, one of them my younger brother with a severe disability. By most people's measure, we came from lack. We didn't have money. We didn't have stuff. We didn't have status. We didn't own anything.
But I don't really look back at it that way, because that's not what I focused on. I had what I needed. I had a mom who loved her kids and did the basics exceedingly well in an extremely difficult situation.
When you've seen people who can't do, can't have, at a level most of us can't even imagine, and then you look at what you can do, something builds up in you over time. It's like a compound effect - the idea Darren Hardy wrote a whole book about - working on you day after day until you realize, man, I've got a lot to be thankful for.
Now, was I always grateful? No. As a teenager, I didn't appreciate it the way I should have. I wish I'd helped my mom a lot more. If you have teenagers, you know - there's a lot going on up there, and appreciation isn't always part of it. So I'm not writing this as somebody who has it figured out. I need this rep as much as anyone.
Knowing it isn't the same as doing it
Here's the thing. It doesn't matter much to know we should be grateful. What matters is applying it, consistently.
That means we keep stepping back. We reflect. We get honest. We take ownership of where we are. And at some point, we get some accountability - somebody in our corner who'll ask us the hard question when we'd rather not answer it.
Because if we can't take ownership of where we are, we're going to struggle to grow to another level. Whatever pattern you're running right now, the compound effect is working on it. The only question is which direction.
What are you really aiming at?
There's a second question I want to leave with you, because gratitude and purpose sit right next to each other.
What are you aiming at?
I was talking with a good friend recently who is driven to be elite at what he does. And that drive is a great thing. But being great at something costs what it costs, and sometimes it can create real unrest in other parts of life.
I'm not God, and I'm not here to judge anybody's path - I've got plenty to work on in me. But as I stepped back and looked at it, I thought this friend is probably created and called to do exactly what he's doing.
Someone else might be aiming at a full, purposeful, meaningful life across the board. That's a broader target. Can you be elite and still build that? Absolutely. There's still a cost. It just looks different, and that's how it's supposed to be.
We're all created different, with unique gifts and talents. You are one of one. Nobody has ever had your fingerprint, nobody has it now, and nobody ever will. So what are you going to leave behind for others from your fingerprint, from your path?
Maybe you're called first and equipped along the way. Maybe you're equipped first and then called onto the path. Either way, I believe with everything in me that you were created for something great.
Your One More Rep this week
Here's your One More Rep. Just one.
Take a few minutes, one-on-one with yourself. No phone. Ask the question, and answer it honestly:
- Am I thankful, or am I thinking otherwise?
- What's one thing I'm grateful for right now that I haven't said out loud?
- What am I created and called to do - and am I aiming at it?
Then do it again tomorrow morning, and again before you go to bed. Don't save it for one Thursday in November.
Wouldn't you like to bring your better self to the table this holiday season - at home and at work? I know I would. You are worth it, and you have what it takes.
God bless. Let's grow!
