First, a Quote: “Gratitude and attitude are not challenges; they are choices.” – Robert Braathe
Hello and Happy almost Thanksgiving !
Every day, much like a photographer selecting a lens, we each choose the lenses through which we view the world.
The lens we choose influences everything—how we perceive situations, the emotions we feel, the reactions we display, and the attitudes we project to others.
These choices form the foundation of how we navigate life and can either lead to happiness or foster unhappiness. Often, we make these choices unconsciously, without intention.
But choosing a lens is just the beginning. We also decide where to aim it—where to focus our chosen lens, our attention, and the perspective from which we view the world.
In a world often overshadowed by negativity—especially during challenging times—it’s easy to fixate on the ugly and the negative. Yet, even in the darkest moments, beauty, love, compassion, and joy exist, waiting to be discovered.
Sometimes, all it takes is changing the lens or shifting our focus to find exactly what we’re looking for.
Robert Braathe’s quote above resonates deeply with me because it reminds us that gratitude and attitude are choices we make moment by moment, day by day.
Even the act of not choosing is itself a choice—one that often leads to dissatisfaction and unhappiness.
Life inevitably brings bad days, but when those bad days shape our long-term attitude, they become barriers to lasting joy and happiness.
As Victor Frankl so eloquently said:
“Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.”
This week, as we approach Thanksgiving, I’m consciously choosing gratitude.
Like many, I often take people and blessings for granted. This season reminds us to cherish those who matter most and express our appreciation.
How About You?
I encourage you to take time this week for reflection. Who are the important people in your life who mean the most? How will you show them gratitude?
Let’s make this season about strengthening connections and being intentional with our gratitude.
I’d love to hear your thoughts on cultivating gratitude and managing attitudes. I offer the following prompts for your consideration:
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How do you intentionally manage your attitude?
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What practices help you maintain an attitude of gratitude?
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What actions can we take to show appreciation to others?
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How have you kept your spirits uplifted during challenging times?
Thank you for your continued support this past year. Your likes, shares, comments, and words of encouragement mean the world to me, and I am deeply grateful.
None of this would be possible without the mentors, friends, and loved ones who have guided, supported, and challenged me over the years. I am deeply thankful for each of you!
Please note!
I will be taking the month of December off to focus on family and friends and enjoy the holiday season. Our family celebrated Thanksgiving yesterday… our holiday season has begun!
I’ll return in early 2025!
Wishing you a safe and joyful holiday season!
“May you always have love to share, health to spare, and friends that care.” – unknown
Bonus Quotes Below
Bryan Yager
“Expanding Your Capacity for Success”
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- Revised and updated. Original version published on November 23, 2020.
Bonus Quotes:
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“Appreciation is a wonderful thing. It makes what is excellent in others belong to us as well.” – Voltaire
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“When eating fruit, remember the one who planted the tree.” – Vietnamese Proverb
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“I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought; and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder.” – G. K. Chesterton
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“Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things.” – Robert Brault
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“When I started counting my blessings, my whole life turned around.” – Willie Nelson
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“It’s a funny thing about life, once you begin to take note of the things you are grateful for, you begin to lose sight of the things that you lack.” – Germany Kent
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“Gratitude is the ability to experience life as a gift. It liberates us from the prison of self-preoccupation.” – John Ortberg
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“We must find time to stop and thank the people who make a difference in our lives.” – John F. Kennedy
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“Gratitude turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos into order, confusion into clarity…it makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.” – Melody Beattie
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“The soul that gives thanks can find comfort in everything; the soul that complains can find comfort in nothing.” – Hannah Whitall Smith
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“Reflect upon your present blessings, of which every man has plenty; not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some.” – Charles Dickens
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“Appreciation can make a day, even change a life. Your willingness to put it into words is all that is necessary.” – Margaret Cousins
