Gratitude

Getting Thru the worst things requires a mindset. Whether it’s an illness you or a loved one are battling, a fracture in an important relationship, the loss of a job that puts your family in difficult financial straits, the proper mindset as you encounter these kinds of challenges matters.

One of the most difficult of mindset elements to embrace when you are going thru the worst things is gratitude. How do you show thanks for what you have when much of your life is a challenge? I saw this firsthand with my son Kyle as he traversed the world of cancer treatments. He wasn’t just a glass half full person; he was a glass totally full person. One of the things you learn about when your child has cancer is how the care givers and doctors see their role. I would often marvel at how they handled watching young children go through excruciating treatments, many not surviving. When I asked them why they chose a field that saw such heartbreaking scenarios they each shared a similar response; “Children do not know death like adults do. They see the world with a purity and clarity that we as adults cannot and that is how they view their treatments, it’s an inspiring thing to be a part of”.

What I saw from Kyle during his treatments was that perspective. He did not wallow in his treatment process, he played, laughed, had fun and while often dealing with excruciating pain always saw the beauty in the day. He lived life with a level of gratitude that was inspiring and educational for me as his father. He found the good in every day, even the days that seemed brutal to any objective observer. When I saw him act this way it was hard for me to not do the same. I have since then adopted his perspective. Some days I do it better than others, but I always work to be what he was, live like he did.

If you want to apply gratitude to your life, I ask you to consider other elements of the Getting Thru mindset. Faith driven belief, empathy for yourself and others and resilience. If you can find your way to apply those elements to your life you will get to gratitude. You can do it!

I often find myself mentoring others and when I speak with them, they begin our conversations with what is challenging them, what they are worried about, which is an understandable perspective to have. I quickly try to spin the conversation to what they are grateful for in their lives, business. You can see the positivity begin to show through in their faces. Once we know where the wins are we can understand how they became wins and apply those principles to where the challenges lie. This is often in the context of business and leadership but certainly works in our personal lives as well.

As I continue to work on building the Getting Thru Community, I am incredibly grateful for those who have come into my path to help assist me in what we see as a noble cause. Helping others get thru their worst possible things. to As I continue to work on building the Getting Thru Community, I am incredibly grateful for those who have come into my path to help assist me in what we see as a noble cause: helping others get thru their worst possible things.

With Gratitude,

Jim

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