Yesterday was my birthday. I am so lucky to have my birthday during the week of Thanksgiving, (although I admit that as a child I preferred birthday cake to pumpkin pie every time)!
One of the special things about having a birthday during this time is that I am able to spend it with my entire extended family in the city where I was born and raised. I appreciate the chance to have the people I love most surrounding me at dinner, offering me their humor, encouragement, and love. At each stage of life, this has been my experience. There isn’t a single year when I am not grateful for it. I realize how remarkable this is. I know that it will change in time, as all things do. And that makes it all the more incredible. That single moment, where I look each person in the eye and silently say to myself, “I am so grateful for you in my life.”
As you prepare for the holiday tomorrow, I invite you to enter it in such a way. We typically go around and ask all participants to share one thing they are grateful for in the last year. This has created many unexpected surprises, emotions, and closer connection.
Cultivating an attitude of gratitude this week is a leadership practice that can extend into conversations with teams and colleagues. At a leadership team workshop yesterday, we used it in our final wrap. It sets the stage for the remaining month of the year to finish strongly, yet mindfully.
We all have much to be grateful for. Share it.
Happy Thanksgiving!