10 unexpected reasons to give thanks

inc.com
/>10 Unexpected Reasons to Give Thanks
Forget the turkey. This Thanksgiving, be thankful for a few things you might not consider
blessings but should.
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Although for many people, Thanksgiving means family and friends and turkey and stuffing and
stuffing ourselves, the day is also a reminder to give thanks.
This Thanksgiving, take a second to be thankful for a few things you might not have
considered blessings:
1. Failure.
For most of us, failure isn't the end of the world. Failure is just the end of an idea or a possibility
or a dream. When we fail, we can move on to something else, with luck a little wiser and a lot
more likely to succeed.
For some, though, failure means going without or worse, possibly forcing their children to go
without.
Failure sucks, but never being able to take a chance on your skills, your experience, and your
vision is much, much worse.
Be thankful you have the opportunity to fail on terms you at least partly set. Many people do
not.
2. Criticism.
People criticize only when they care. While people still care about you or your business, you
have the opportunity to do something better, to do something differently, to change their
minds or to just meet in the middle.
Apat hy is much, much worse.
3. Sadness.
When you're sad, that means you care, and caring is the mother of changing things for the
better.
Apat hy is much, much worse.
4. Respect.
Think of people you admire. Think of people who have earned your trust and est eem.
Be thankful those people are a part of your life. In fact, don't just be privately thankful. Tell

them how you feel.
That will make them be grateful for people like you.
5. Options.
You might have so many options and potential choices, both business and personal, that you
feel stressed and even overwhelmed.
Flip it around: Imagine how it would feel to have few, if any, options. Imagine how it would feel
to have few, if any, viable choices.
Be thankful you have options the more, the better.
6. St ruggle.
Not unintentional struggle. Intentional struggle: like choosing to work incredibly hard or to push
through a mental or physical barrier or to make sacrifices for the good of the people who rely
on you.
When you struggle and fight and endure, you not only stretch the limits of what you believe
you are capable of, but you also sometimes enter a state of grace that you find only when you
strip away what is truly nonessential (which turns out to be most of what you worry about).
Struggling helps you learn who you really are and who you really want to be.
7. Delay.
Remaining patient is rarely fun, but having to wait can be a good thing.
For example, research shows that where vacations are concerned, the biggest boost in
happiness comes from planning to get away. And this vacation anticipation boosts happiness
for an average of eight weeks.
After the vacation, though, happiness levels quickly drop to baseline levels usually within days.
Soon the people who went on a vacation were no happier than the people who had not.
Be thankful you need to wait especially for something you really want . The anticipation alone
is worth it.
Besides, waiting for what you want not what you need, but what you want is a luxury only
those who are already blessed can afford.
8. Regret.
Think about something you wish you had done better. Or handled differently. Or think about
something you wish you had done but for whatever reason, you didn't.

Painf ul? Sure. And motivating.
Use that motivation today. Call a friend you've lost touch with. Mend fences with a family
member. Be the bigger person and say you're sorry. Do something you wish you had done.
You'll be thankful you did.
9. Family.
Take a look around the table. I know: Uncle Johnny is overbearing. Aunt Shirley can't stay out
of anyone's business. Your brother resents you, and your mom can't stop babying you.
They can be terrible and you'll miss them terribly when they're gone. Smile, see the good in
each of them, and be glad you have a family.
Many people would love to have a terrible family like yours.
10. This moment.
Because you have the time and resources to do something like reading this post, that means
you have time: to improve yourself, to consider new ideas, to try to be a bet ter person, to build
better relationships with family and friends.
Time is our most important asset and what we should all be most thankful for. Time makes
everything else possible.
Don't waste it.
Jeff Haden learned much of what he knows about business and technology as he
worked his way up in the manufacturing indust ry. Everything else he picks up from
ghostwriting books for some of the smartest leaders he knows in
business. @jeff_haden