#8: The Practice That Pulls You Back...
Read time: 2-3 minutes
1474 days of gratitude.
For 1,474 days, I've been writing down three things I'm grateful for—without it, I don’t know where I’d be.
Sure, I’ve missed some days here and there, but perfection is not the point…never has been.
But before I move on, Happy Thanksgiving from my family to yours!
(My wife, Gina, three children, daughters boyfriend, and my mother-in-law all together for a Thanksgiving meal)
The Transformative Effect of Gratitude
Gratitude is more than feeling thankful—it's a rewiring. Here are three ways it's transformed how I lead and live.
#1 - Gratitude grounds me in the present
As a visionary, I have a tendency to look ahead and live in the future. It's my natural habitat—and my Achilles heel, too!
During my long, slow knee injury recovery (I’m at the six month mark and still not done), getting too future-focused only led to discouragement and hopelessness as I thought, When will this be over? Will I ever be able to do the things I used to do?
Gratitude became my anchor. Instead of asking 'when will this end,' I started asking 'what's here right now that I'm missing?
#2 - Gratitude keeps my eyes on what I have instead of what I don’t
Whenever scarcity thinking creeps in—and for leaders, it often does—gratitude pulls me back to reality and the blessings I already have.
A friend of mine once said, “Blessed is the man who wants what he has.”
That line haunts me in the best way.
#3 - Gratitude is the antidote to complaining
One wrong thought when you open your eyes can spiral into a morning of frustration.
That’s why I write down three things I’m thankful for almost as soon as I wake up. It reframes my entire day from lack to abundance, from complaint to thanksgiving.
Sometimes, when I start complaining, I try to immediately think of what I’m thankful for and sometimes say it out loud…because it’s impossible to be thankful and complain at the same time.
That’s not to say we can’t vent or grieve sometimes. That is to say complaining is a slippery slope.
Your Rhythms Check
This is about your Emotional rhythms—how you process your internal world determines how you show up externally.
If you don't intentionally direct your attention first thing in the morning, your heart and brain will default to what's broken, what's missing, what's urgent—and you'll lead from anxiety all day.
But if you start with gratitude, you’ll lead from abundance instead of scarcity, and be more focused on the present and the people around you.
This week's rhythm: Tomorrow morning, before checking your phone, write down three specific things you're grateful for. Not generic things—specific. Not "my family" but "the way my daughter laughed at dinner last night." Do this for seven days.
What would change in your leadership if you started each day from abundance instead of scarcity?
Reply to this email with one specific thing you're committing to be grateful for tomorrow morning. I read every response, and I want to know what you're choosing to notice.
Until next time,
PS - My free gift to you, The Daily Gratitude page. Use it to frame your day in gratitude.
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