Three Gifts

Every day is a gift. Waking up is not inevitable. In that respect there are no bad days, only good days and better days. Each morning is another chance to try again.

I especially enjoy the Holiday Season. This time of year offers a special opportunity for three very important life-activities:

Thanking. I believe in the adage that gratefulness creates a great fullness of heart. Even in these most challenging times we still have much to be thankful for. Being thankful for blessings, including both what happened and didn't happen, doesn't deny the difficulties of life but refocuses us and enables us to better endure.

The giving of gifts can sometimes seem obligatory and burdensome. It shouldn't be that way. One of the best gifts I ever received was from a friend who took time to write down fifty things he appreciated about me when I turned 50. The monetary cost was small but the value was priceless.

Make time to give thanks for your blessings and to thank those who matter to you during this holiday season.

Reflecting. We often waste experiences good and bad by not learning from them. Sometimes reflection helps us understand why something happened and sometimes the deeper reasons remain hidden. In either case we can learn something about ourselves, about others or about life if we make time to truly think and reflect.

Sometimes reflection done well can be disconcerting to downright frightening. True reflection strips away pretense and can help us see what we need to see and it isn't always pleasant. But like most things, after the truth upsets you it has the potential to set you free.

Dreaming. The greatest danger in life isn't that we dream too big but that we don't dream big enough.

The economy and related stresses have caused many to stop playing to win; instead they are playing not to lose. Certainly there are defensive actions we may need to take to preserve wealth and avoid great difficulty, but we should never focus only on those things. There are incredible opportunities to be found in the difficulties of life. Many new businesses will be born and fortunes earned by those who dare to dream big not because of the current challenges but despite them.

Over twenty years ago Robert Schuller wrote a book with a title most appropriate for the end of 2008: Tough times never last but tough people do.

The future will be better not because of circumstance (which we don't control) but because of choice (which we do control). Thanking, reflecting and dreaming are three choices that can be invaluable gifts to give yourself this holiday season.

-- Mark Sanborn (author of The Fred Factor)