Finding True Gratitude in Life's Challenges

Gratitude is a fashionable gesture this time of year – a seasonal trend adorned like a festive accessory.

It’s easy and even expected to feel thankful amidst the warmth of family gatherings, the abundance of a festive meal or the cheer of holiday tradition, at least in the US. It’s beyond these moments of conventional thankfulness that I think the power of true gratitude lies. 

I’m all for gratitude amidst gratitude – but if you want to transform yourself, those around you and your results – it necessitates looking elsewhere. It’s looking into the less obvious places of the challenging, the mundane, the overlooked aspects of our lives – where bringing gratitude can transform our experiences. 

When we consciously choose to find gratitude where you’re routined, resigned, or resentful, we unlock a profound strength. It isn’t just about feeling better or happier; it’s a radical act to shift our own perspective, redefining our experiences, and empowering ourselves to navigate life with a deeper sense of appreciation and resilience. 

Practicing gratitude in the spaces where it doesn’t naturally arise alchemizes our emotions and rewires our brains to seek out the possible and new opportunity in every situation. By embedding gratitude into the fabric of our everyday life, especially where it seems least likely to appear, we don't just change our view of the world; we change our interaction with it, opening doors to a more fulfilling and enriched life journey.

I’m not suggesting that you should deny the difficulty or paint the problems with unrealistic positivity. Rather, the work is to acknowledge the full spectrum of experience – and choose to connect to the aspects that bring growth, learning and even unexpected, profound joy. It’s backing up to a more holistic perspective where every experience, anywhere on the spectrum, is valued for the richness it brings to our personal narrative. After all, no matter what situation you’re in, if you’re reading this you have the incredible grace of having a human experience right now. At the very least, somewhere inside of you, is gratitude for life itself. 

This Thanksgiving, I’m taking time out to identify moments that feel ordinary or outright challenging. I’m sharing the good, the bad and the ugly with those I’m close to find gratitude for our shared human experience. I’m reflecting on the transience of life, connecting with the profound mundanity of ordinary moments that will be part of my memories and others. 

This isn’t easy and I’d love for you to join me. I’d love to hear where you’re finding gratitude.

I welcome hearing about the obvious moments you’re grateful for, but it would be even more powerful to hear about the gratitude you discover in less obvious places. The gratitude for things that maybe deep down, you wish were another way. Finding gratitude there is real, transformative and life changing. 

Let’s enjoy this season of gratitude to be sure. And let’s take that next step, together. The step that transforms the routine, resigned or resented into a rich tapestry of experience – each thread woven with gratitude, resilience and growth that becomes not just part of the season, but your life.