Gratitude Not Greeditude

It’s that time of year again in the United States. The time when we are bombarded by non-ending entreaties to overspend on just about anything they can squeeze into a mall or on the webpages of internet retailers, and that’s a lot of space. The big day of the coming holiday weekend is… Black Friday…the day of obsessive consumption. Black Friday, the kickoff off of the frenzy of buying for that end of the year day of showing your love through big piles of boxes under a tree.

Perhaps that sounds a little bit cynical, or more than a little bit. I suppose it is and I am. Thinking about this reminded me of the real basis for the Thanksgiving holiday. It began as a celebration by the Pilgrims in 1621 of a successful harvest season after overcoming many obstacles in the lands they had newly settled. A simple celebration of what they had achieved and a feast of thanks for the wonderful place where they now lived.

With such a big emphasis on accumulation of more and more stuff we’ve forgotten the basic reason for the holiday – to give thanks for what we already have and for the good things we have been able to do. So, moving from the cynical to the celebratory, I’d like to name a few things I’m thankful for.

I’m thankful for good health and a wonderful and supportive family, that my basic needs are met and that I still have something left over for a few indulgences like an occasional round of golf at a fancy and expensive course.

In my work life, I’m thankful for you, dear readers. The reception I get from you brightens my days and brings joy to my heart. I’m thankful that I have the good fortune of doing a variety of things I enjoy including my work with the Wharton Global Consulting Practicum, international social impact projects with Geneva Global, and lots of interesting consulting work with exceptional partners and clients. It will not surprise you that I am also grateful that my addiction to travel is satisfied with all of the journeys my work requires.

I could go on at great length for as I started to think about the things I am thankful for I realized they outnumber the things I’d like to disappear by a thousandfold. I’m almost certain the same is true for you. And yet we so often focus almost solely on this small list of negative things, both at work and in life in general.

Here’s a suggestion. Going into the holiday season, make your own list, a long one I hope, of what you are thankful for both in your personal and work lives. Write it down and post it someplace where you’ll see it regularly. Think about it often and move into the coming new year fortified with the knowledge that no matter how dark a day may feel you have a wealth of good things that will help you push through to the sunlight beyond.