In the U.S., we’re preparing for the big Thanksgiving holiday. We overindulge and loosen our sweatpants, melting into the couch. The dishes pile up. The game plays loudly on the TV.

For some people, that sounds like bliss. For me, it seems like some kind of strange torture. Somewhere in the day, we mumble something about Giving Thanks. It’s the reason for the excess, and the spirit of it all is almost an afterthought.

I took on a practice of gratitude a few decades ago. I believe that’s why I am annoyingly perky in the morning. I awaken and the first words out of my mouth are Thank You. I’m grateful to be here. I’m grateful for my first breath of the morning. And then I step into the day with, “How might I serve greatly today?”

Thank you.
I now step into service of others.

Those are bold statements that most people leave behind when they reach for their cell phones or turn on the news first thing. Personally, I train my subconscious by refusing to allow anything into my consciousness before I deliberately step into gratitude and service.

There’s also a Japanese phrase I picked up along the way: Itadakimasu – (roughly pronounced it-ah-dah-key-moss). It means, “I humbly receive,” and I utter the phrase before every meal. I don’t save my thanks for one day of overindulgence in the year. For every plate before me, I am grateful for the plate, what’s on it, and for how it got to me. I’m grateful for the food, the cook, the farmer, the animals, and so much more. 

Living in gratitude is a practiced habit. It’s not something I have to remind myself to do. Like flossing before brushing (you do floss and brush, right?), gratitude is part of a daily operating routine. It’s conscious and it’s subconscious.

Use Thanksgiving as a trigger to start a new habit, a habit of gratitude 365 & 24/7. 

I’m grateful you’re here. Keep making your magic and working on your Next Big Next!

= Wayne = 

 Big things are brewing! 
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