The Foundation for Success and Happiness

Almost always, there are two sides to the story. . .

When the kitchen faucet broke into a sputtering mess on the Friday before Thanksgiving?   I could have dissolved into a mass of self-pity ("why do things always go wrong for me???"). . .or be grateful there were the resources to go to a place like Home Depot, get a new one, and be thankful that I am married to a woman who, thank goodness, is more mechanically minded than I.

There are two ways I could remember this Thanksgiving:    the literal  pain  I felt when I burnt the crap out of my hand minutes before serving dinner, or the gratitude I felt by having 14 loving friends and family in our home.

There were two options I could have considered yesterday,     The "why-don't-things-work-when-they-are-supposed-to" special kind of anger when my car wouldn't start in the morning. . .or the amazing ability of our family to figure it out and keep on moving.

There are two ways I could look at life:   longing and striving for all that I don't have . . .or being grateful for that which I do.

Which way of thinking makes me happier?   The latter, of course.   It is also foundational to what I do.   Gratitude is acknowledgment:  both of thanks to the giver and humble recognition of the resources that we have available to us.

It is those resources that allow us to live and thrive.      If we are ungrateful, or take those resources for granted, it is much more difficult to move forward for we convince ourselves that we don't have "enough."    If we recognize, with humility, what we have been given and what we have earned as resources, then we have a strong foundation to build upon. 

It is also gratitude that creates focus in our lives;   it centers us around that which is positive and that in turn becomes the creative and practical charge that moves us forward.

There are two ways we can look at our team:     as a necessity that we constantly have to herd through deadlines and lead through HR mazes. . .or a group of people, each with a diverse set of talents, that enables us to accomplish tasks each and every day.

Guess which viewpoint will bring success.

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My book "Courageous Questions, Confident Leaders" is available on Amazon Kindle.