Gratitude: A Life Pillar

As I write to you, I think it is safe to say that fall is here. I can see the leaves falling; it is a brisk, cool day, and the holidays are quickly approaching. This time of the year always makes me think about turkey, dressing, and a piece of pumpkin pie. More importantly, this time of the year reminds us to pause, reset, and refocus on what is truly important. If we are not careful, we will rush through life and miss some of its most precious moments. Do not allow moments to slip away from you, but resolve within yourself to seize every moment. I hope these insights will empower you to get clear about your priorities and live more centered.

1. You need to take a moment and pause. First of all, I can hear some of you saying that I need to take my own advice. I will admit that I am very much a Type A personality, and I have to constantly remind myself to slow down. I live with a clear vision and in pursuit of clearly-defined goals. However, I have been challenged more than ever to pause and get clear about my priorities. At the end of the day, work is not going anywhere. So I am learning how to enjoy more moments and stop obsessing about all the things that I need to get done. In some kind of way, those things always work out anyway. To pause is not just about you stopping or slowing down. To pause means that you give yourself space to breathe and just enjoy the journey. As someone who is driven, I have to constantly remind myself to also be present. It would be a travesty to check off everything on my to-do list only to discover that I missed out on so many beautiful moments in my life. To pause is to recalibrate and reset your life. The more clarity you have, the more you live in flow.

2. You must stop complaining about your life. If you have followed my work for any length of time, then you have heard me talk about the power of words. The more I talk about the power of words, the more I realize how important words are. It does not take a lot of energy or effort to complain about your life. I listen to people all the time who talk about how terrible their lives are. However, it takes a different skill set to speak about what is going right in your life. You have to train your tongue. Complaining is the language of the ungrateful. While most people will never admit to being ungrateful, the reality is that they model it through how they live their lives. While we all have areas of our lives we want to improve, never take for granted all the good things about your life. Complaining is the thief of perspective. Complaining clouds our judgment and causes us to live constricted and confined by our circumstances. Whatever imprisons your perspective defrauds you of your power. Make a decision to stop complaining about your life and instead start celebrating the gift that life truly is.

3. You need to make gratitude a daily practice. As many of you know, I started keeping a gratitude journal more than twenty years ago. When I first started my gratitude journal, it was very challenging for me. At the time, I wanted to write down three to five things that I was thankful for every single day. However, as I developed this discipline, I was able to write pages of things that I was grateful for on a daily basis. One of the best decisions I ever made was to start a gratitude journal. It opened my heart, transformed my perspective, and adjusted my attitude. Gratitude is a powerful life pillar. It has anchored me in moments when I felt like my life was falling apart. Gratitude has stabilized me when my world felt shaky. Most of all, gratitude has rooted me in the reality of how blessed I truly am. It is impossible to be grateful and miserable at the same time. Gratitude changes you from the inside out and ushers you into limitless possibilities.

4. Gratitude produces contentment in your life. As someone who consults and advises leaders all around the world, one thing I can tell you is that the world needs more contentment. Greed, comparison, and competition are poisons that are contaminating the hearts and corrupting the souls of people all around the world. We get, but we want more. We covet, and then we are willing to compromise because we lack convictions. While I am not telling you not to have ambition or to want more for your life, the thing I am trying to get you to see is that you must become content. In other words, you may not have everything you want, but you are still blessed. In your pursuit of the life you want, never forget to stop and give thanks for the life that you have been given. Contentment is not an excuse to stop learning, growing, and evolving. Contentment is the opportunity to live fully present and to realize the treasure of the journey.