With Gratitude

I’ve started and stopped at least a dozen posts in the past 45 days.

Which seems somewhat appropriate, given that it's Ground Hog Day, and for a generation of people my age, that is more a reference to Bill Murray repeating his day than whether or not Phil sees his shadow.
 
Regardless, it's been a long time since I've been in your inbox.
 
You’re welcome. :-)
 
There have been a lot of themes that have popped into my head these past six weeks, and I imagine I’ll get to those topics eventually. But, as I watch the set over the Pacific Ocean in San Diego, the theme that keeps coming back to me is gratitude.

A year ago, I set out to spend January 2023 in San Diego. Why here? I don't know. It's warm. The temperature is perfect (if a bit chilly in the winter). Because their baseball team reminds me of the Pittsburgh Pirates and I can authentically cheer for them. Because the older I get, the less I like being in the cold for six months.

Really, it’s that last reason. I don’t like being cold.

As I approach the one year anniversary of going full time into my own business, I think gratitude is the most appropriate theme for right now. Gratitude that being able to travel somewhere warm for more than a few days in winter is not just a pipe dream, but a possibility. Gratitude that I can work while I travel and not be hemmed in by someone else's schedule.

I’ve written about gratitude in the past – multiple times. More recently, in reading The Best Year Ever, by Michael Hyatt, I was reminded of just a few of the benefits of a regular gratitude practice:
 
It keeps us hopeful.
 
It improves our patience.
 
It reminds us that we have agency – the power to act and effect change in our lives. I think this reminder has been the strongest benefit of gratitude for me in this past year.
 
It moves us into a place of abundance – a place where we’re more resourceful, creative, generous, optimistic, and kind. I think this reminder has also been incredibly powerful, as I approached this winter thinking more about what was possible and less about what was.
 
Researchers remind us that positive emotions like gratitude “broaden one’s thought-action repertoire, expanding the range of cognitions and behaviors that come to mind. These broadened mindsets, in turn, build an individual’s physical, intellectual, and social resources."*

For me personally, I am grateful for all of you out there reading this email. Grateful for your support, and appreciative of those who have hired me and trusted me to be a part of their journey.

It's easy to be grateful right now, truthfully. When I get back home to the "once in a generation cold" that's predicted to hit the Northeast this weekend, I'll be working a little harder at finding the positives in the -50 below temperatures...

Which is, after all, why gratitude is a practice.
 
If you've never done a gratitude practice in the past, I highly recommend starting with 21 days of gratitude from the Shawn Achor book, The Happiness Advantage. The goal is to write three new things every day that you are grateful for - as the days go on and you must look harder to find different things, the practice is a great way to train your brain to look for the positives.

Wishing you all a happy Groundhog's Day, and a sincere hope that Phil was wrong...
 
Be kind,

Kim

P.S. There were some really beautiful sunsets....