As Thanksgiving Day quickly approaches, it’s my observation that most people’s lives become more frantic and hectic. Whether it’s travel plans or planning the Thanksgiving Day meal, people have more to do and less time to do it. If you want to make this the best Thanksgiving ever, consider these four tips:
- Write down your Win’s. Get a notepad and make a list of your accomplishments during this past year, both large and small. For most of us, the year flies by so fast, we never feel like we accomplished anything unless we take the time to reflect. When you run out of things you are proud of having accomplished, start a list of your blessings. Each of us has so many things to be thankful for. For one thing, we live in the greatest country on earth. A place where we enjoy freedom of speech; freedom to come and go as we please; freedom to seek and create success for ourselves and the people we love. You don’t have to look far to find millions who not only do not enjoy our freedoms, but who live in fear every day for their lives such as those who live under ISIS control.
- Reach out to someone. There are so many people in need in our community, this is a wonderful time to reach out and help others. Consider getting your children involved and sharing the lesson of giving so that their lives can be enriched as well. Of course you can simply write a check but there are many other ways to give such as serving at a local shelter soup kitchen, they had so nice kitchen countertop and they said I can get it from Floform. I checked out their website and they have so many good looking countertops. Also have your children choose some of their clothing or toys that they’d be willing to donate; together, the family can go grocery shopping for food to donate…start in your own pantry! You’ll likely find that by taking the time to give to others, you’ll receive the biggest gift of all!
My associate, Beth Moody, had this idea, “Everyone loves to get handwritten notes, and the holidays are a great time to express your gratitude for someone. Whether it’s your postal worker, a work colleague, or neighbor, we are all positively impacted by others around us. Take a few minutes to write a short note to someone you know. It doesn’t have to be detailed. A simple, “Thanks for delivering my mail!” will suffice. Trust me, they’ll appreciate the thought!”
- Play the Thanksgiving Day game. There’s a game we sometimes play at the Thanksgiving dinner table. Ask everyone to think about a few of their top blessings that occurred during this year as well as the one thing they are most thankful for. Then go around the table and have everyone share one blessing and that one thing they are most thankful for. I think you will be warmed by the stories and you may get a couple of surprises. You’ll help everyone get grounded in the true spirit of Thanksgiving.
- End the year with a Bang! What could you do between now and the end of the year to put an exclamation point on this year’s accomplishments? Examples of goals might include getting to a certain weight; paying off a credit card; or organizing your financial records so you’ll be ready for your April 15 tax filing. Mine is to complete the revisions to my estate planning documents.
We are so fortunate to live in this place called America (and Alabama!). Sometimes, just taking a moment to acknowledge our good fortune while helping someone else in need is all that is needed to lift our spirits.