A Posture of Gratitude
Every morning, we take a posture into our day. While no day will be perfect, and most days will surely throw us some unsavory curveballs, our posture will play a more significant role in how our day goes than the external forces that hit us.
I wish I could say I always get this right....I don't. Somedays I wake up on the wrong side of the bed and step into my day with a poor attitude. Even good days turn sour when I do that. However, most days, I try to approach it with a posture of service and generosity. Those days are usually pretty killer.
Today, I have a posture of gratitude. Yesterday was the final of three speaking opportunities in the last five days. And man, it was awesome! I have been anticipating yesterday for over a year, and it felt great to finally get the opportunity. Despite all the speaking success in the last five days, it was far from perfect. Between each speaking engagement were fires, mishaps, emergencies, hurting clients, deadlines, and mistakes. Impact isn't usually pretty. It's not some clean, perfect little package with a bow on it like social media would have us believe. It can be ugly and messy. Gratitude covers a lot of that up, though.
I'm grateful for Ankeny Young Professionals for inviting me to speak.
I'm grateful for On With Life for hosting the event and for all the amazing work they are doing. I could have just restructured my entire talk and used them as THE example of what it looks like to pursue meaning.
I'm grateful for all the wonderful people who came out to listen to the talk. Wow, that room was packed!
I'm grateful for Daily Meaning reader (and my new friend!), Gretchen, for driving to Ankeny to attend the event and meet me. Gretchen, our time together was one of the highlights of my week! Thank you!
I'm grateful for my team, who helped make this all possible:
Jordan, for the sharp visuals.
Parker, for the fantastic video work.
Rebekah, for keeping my head on straight (this is a tall order!).
Claire, for the wonderful social media.
Alyssa, for ensuring I kept enough margin in my calendar to prepare and be mentally healthy.
As I mentioned in my talk, we can't do it alone.....and luckily, we don't have to. I would be nothing without my team.
I'm grateful for many friends (and my wife) who showed up to see me speak. It was the first time in several years that my wife attended one of my talks. That meant a lot to me.
I'm grateful for the many failures that have shaped me into who I am today. Without those terrible, gut-wrenching experiences, I couldn't be truly grateful for what I do have. Also, those failure stories make for great content for people to laugh at!
Lastly, I'm grateful for you for reading! It means more than you know!
Gratitude. Always gratitude.