Reset: A Time to Reflect and Express Gratitude

As I write to you, we are getting ready to enter the month of November. While 2020 has been anything but usual, this is truly my favorite time of the year. I know that the holidays will look a little different for all us of this year. However, I am looking forward to a break from the news, COVID-19 numbers, and this 2020 election. I am excited to slow things down a bit, enjoy the time with my family, and pause and give thanks for where I am currently in my life. If you have followed my work over the years, then you know that I believe in the power of gratitude and I am have made it an important part of my life for many years. I want to briefly speak with you about the importance of a hard reset and getting back to a place of gratitude in your life.

1. Take some time to reflect on the last ten months. While I am not insensitive to the reality of 2020, I do not want you to become negative and curse this year. I want you to reflect on the fact that you are still alive, in your right mind and you have made it through a very trying time in the world. Notice that I did not say that everything in your life is perfect. Nor did I say that you are not experiencing challenges. However, do not buy into the toxic belief that 2020 is canceled. I know that your life has been greatly inconvenienced and you have encountered many disruptions. Yet you can still reflect on the last ten months and appreciate the fact that you are still standing in the midst of turbulence and uncertainty. Do not curse your life but find the blessing in this moment.
2. Hit the reset button on your life. All year long, I have been speaking to you about how there is a larger message in this COVID-19 crisis. I believe that the message that this season has been sending us is that we all needed a hard reset. Honestly, before the crisis unfolded in the United States, most people were not living a centered or intentional life. So when I hear people say that 2020 is canceled and they are looking forward to 2021 I find it mind-boggling. Truthfully, by March when the country shut down most people had already abandoned their goals and returned to life as usual. Or as I like to call it living life by default. So we cannot truly blame the crisis for the lack of productivity in our lives. Then we were gifted with an abundance of time. Unfortunately, most people used this time to binge-watch Netflix and scroll social media. So many people did not take advantage of this time to work on themselves, work on their goals, and work on strengthening their spiritual foundation. I hope that you have gotten the lesson that this season has been trying to teach you. I hope that you have hit the reset button on your life and realigned to fulfill your purpose and maximize your potential. No season in our lives is wasted and every season is pregnant with significance.
3. Understand that gratitude is a mindset. I have written about gratitude so much over the years. Many of the pieces have become very popular and shared on some of the largest platforms in the world. Every year I continue to hear stories of how my writing on gratitude has changed the lives of people around the world. One of the things that have empowered me to become the greatest expression of who I was created to be was developing a mindset of gratitude. Many of you know that my journey has been turbulent. I have faced great adversity, opposition, setbacks, and failure along the way. In those moments where life tried to break me, I cultivated a mindset of gratitude. I developed a unique skillset that empowered me with the ability to find something good even in the grief of my life. I learned to find something positive even when the pressure of life was trying to weigh my down. More importantly, I found a way to remain appreciative when adversity was trying to defeat me. I developed an attitude of gratitude and it changed everything for me. How am I still standing? Why did I not give up? I am standing because I learned how to find the significance in every season, the treasure in every trial, and the value in every valley. No matter what you face in your life you always have something to be grateful for. Cultivate a mindset of gratitude and it will shift the course of your life forever!
4. Make gratitude a daily practice in your life. As many of you know, I started a gratitude journal more than twenty years ago and I never stopped. When I started this journal it was very challenging to write an entire list of things that I was grateful for. However, as I developed in this practice I found it easy to write down things that I was grateful for. In fact, my list started to grow and my journal entries became more powerful and meaningful. I can look back at seasons of betrayal and find something to be grateful for. Also, I can look back at seasons of adversity and appreciate the significance of those seasons in my life. More importantly, I can look back on my failures and find wisdom and insights. I want to challenge you to make gratitude a daily practice in your life. If you can make complaining a daily practice in your life, then surely you can make gratitude a daily practice in your life. Complaining does not do anything for your life. Complaining simply obscures your ability to see the blessings of today. Gratitude empowers you to perceive the precious gift of every moment. While you may not be grateful for everything that has happened in your life, you can be grateful in everything. You are more blessed than you could ever imagine. As we go into this holiday season, make the decision that you will never lose your heart of gratitude!