Do you find it ironic that election day and Thanksgiving fall in the same month? For months preceding the election, you are hammered with vicious ads...as if nearly annoying someone to death will garner your vote. Let’s face it, elections bring out the ugliness in many people. Mean things are said. TV screens glow with hateful images. Life is not very fun. There’s nothing redeeming about it.
Then, two or three weeks later, we gather with friends, family, or neighbors, share food, kind thoughts and show our thanks and gratefulness to/for one another.
Ever wonder why this seems to be reserved for a few holidays?
Another Way to Live
What if we lived our lives with thanks and gratefulness every day? What if we refused to listen to or watch hate-filled speech and unkind actions? Wouldn’t life be more livable?
Psychologists can agree or disagree on this current unkind trend. But we don’t have to take part in it.
Tim McGraw’s “Humble and Kind”
A favorite song of mine is, “Humble and Kind,” by Tim McGraw. This 2016 hit went platinum and the songwriter, Lori McKenna, won a Grammy. I like it because it’s a soulful reminder that we’re all in life together. We all have our ups and downs, but we’ll live better, happier lives if we always stay humble and kind.
If you don’t know it, take a listen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awzNHuGqoMc
Lyric Highlights:
“Don’t hold a grudge or a chip and here’s why—bitterness keeps you from flying...always stay humble and kind.”
“Hold the door, say please and say thank you…I know you’ve got mountains to climb...but always stay humble and kind.”
“When you get where you’re goin’ turn around; help the next one in line...always stay humble and kind.”
“Don’t take for granted the love this life gives ya. Always stay humble and kind.”
How We Can Be More Humble and Kind?
What steps can we take to lead more gratifying lives and immunize ourselves against hate? How do we become more humble and kind?
To ensure we treat others more kindly, consider three questions comedian Craig Ferguson asks before speaking out in anger at another:
Does this need to be said?
Does this need to be said by me?
Does this need to be said by me now?
According to its author, Justin Bariso, asking those three questions before you speak will exponentially increase your emotional intelligence. Doing so may also keep you out of trouble.
As I like to say, “Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.”
A Heaping Helping of Gratitude
What helps us to maintain that thinking? Let’s be more grateful for who we are, what we have and those we know and love. Let’s serve that up big-time. Not just at our Thanksgiving dinner table, but year-round. With that in mind, here’s my gratitude list:
G - Growing up in a small town
R - Relationships, personal and professional
A - Achieving success with my business
T - Travel opportunities
E - Enthusiastic team members to mentor and to coach
F - 4-H membership
U - Unending learning opportunities
L - Loves of my life....Pat and Cari
Have you made your gratitude list? Imagine if we all strove to be more grateful, more humble, and more kind. While it may not change election ads—yet—it may just change your life.
“Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it is thinking of yourself less.” Rick Warren
Happy Thanksgiving, All!