Reflections on the decade

For the last days of this decade, I took some time and reflected on the last few years; really taking time to look back on the small and big of what has made me who I am today. The odd thing about spending a little bit of time each day to reflect and find gratitude, is it does something to your day-to-day perspective.

Now that we are coming to the close of the decade, I wanted to share a couple of little things I’ve learned within these last few days.

People over possessions

The majority of the things I am grateful for are people. I never once thought I was thankful for my car or a toaster, which now that I think of it, I should be because these are very important items that can make or break a morning. Most of the time it was an individual who made such an impact on my life by what they would say or do. Although it’s these same people and my commitments to them that would always be the first thing I take for granted; but not anymore.

Stay present

I spend a lot of time thinking of the future, like any good CEO, which has made us as successful as we are today. Every morning I would think to myself, “What am I grateful for?” which would force me to think in the moment…”What is here today that I take for granted?” or “What happened yesterday that has allowed me to be sitting in this spot today?”

Failure is a part of life

My failures are a part of who I am today. During those times I thought my life was over and I would never live through it, but I did and became a better person afterwards. Looking back on the last 20 years, I’ve had more life-changing events than most people go through their whole lives. Some bad and some good. The bad would always inevitably lead to the good so now I’m not as afraid of failure. In fact, I welcome it because I know the good will be right around the corner.

Finding things to be grateful for during our “30 Days of Gratitude” was hard. Being in a state of gratitude is like using a muscle. The less you use it the weaker it gets. As we are heading into 2020 (a year everyone is excited to start), I encourage them to pause, look around and take a moment to be grateful for today.