You know how November goes.
An eye blink from now, we’ll be in the holiday whirl of shopping, traveling, eating, drinking and gathering.
And then it’s the end of the year. Already. I know.
Before it all starts, I invite you to reclaim Thanksgiving as a time to get some perspective and connect with others.
We pay a lot of lip service to gratitude this time of year. But I want to invite you to take it deeper.
Practice gratitude not just for the people and situations that support and encourage you, but also for those that challenge you and prod you to grow.
Practice gratitude in ways that make you put yourself out there.
Practice gratitude by going beyond the surface — by showing others that you truly see them.
Need ideas?
- Email your team to highlight their awesome moments this year, and maybe even the less- awesome moments that got you all where you needed to go.
- Spark a round-robin conversation at Thanksgiving dinner to share what you all are most grateful for in the past year.
- Let your boss know what you’ve learned from her that will stay with you always.
- Tell your grumpy Aunt Nancy something that’s she’s taught you (with no expectations about how she’ll respond).
Spoiler alert: Once you start with this gratitude stuff, you’re going to crave more. So try a gratitude practice throughout December. It could be as simple as writing down three things each day that you are grateful for. You’ll feel a shift, both within yourself and in how you relate to others.
Our money, our energy and our patience are finite during the holidays. But gratitude is different. The more that we show, the more we will find to be grateful for.
So give it a try. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving, and know that we are appreciating you now and all year long.
This post was originally published on the Jen Spencer Coaches blog.
