I have found that if you love life, life will love you back.

Arthur Rubinstein

The concept of Thanksgiving is a wonderful practice for every day.  It is a lovely American holiday.  It is not a commercial event filled with heavy-duty expectations like the winter holidays.  Many of us enjoy a traditional meal with family and friends.  The fall weather is newly crisp and cool; we have not hit the “cabin-fever” feelings of February and March.

Being thankful is my favorite theme for life and leadership lessons.  Every day we want to be our best self.   Experience shows that when we are thankful before we push hard on our list of incompletions, we will enjoy greater success.

It goes back to that simple “glass half-full” analogy.  When we recognize what is good about our lives and those around us, and what we have done well, we have a more positive perspective to move forward with greater power and ease.  Conversely, when we focus on what is wrong and feel the weight of overwhelm, it is hard to be positive and open to ourselves and those around us.  Current research shows that positivity is one of the most important attributes of successful leaders and a well lived life.

For Thanksgiving, we gather with the goal of saying thank you for our lives and for those whom we love.  What a wonderful practice to add to our daily lives, making it part of your morning or evening routine.  Upon waking or before going to sleep, review in your head things for which you are thankful, or write it down.  Or at the end of the day, when you make your to-do list for the next day, write down what went well or what you accomplished.  Be sure to write the list of accomplishments before what needs to be done tomorrow.  Even more importantly, tell those around you why you are thankful for them.  It never gets old, as long as it is heartfelt.

Enjoy the moments of your life.  That is all there is, really.  So this year, think of Thanksgiving as a practice for the internal conversations you want to have in your head and with those around you.  Adopt a thankful approach every day.

On that note, thank you for reading my blog.  I love to write, and share the stories of my work and life.  I am so thankful for my readers and always enjoy the comments and feedback.

Great leadership usually starts with a willing heart,
a positive attitude, and a desire to make a difference.

Mac Anderson