Are You Not Grateful for 2020?

As we head into the week of Thanksgiving it’s that one time of year where more people talk about what they are grateful for than any other time of the year. Whether that is right or wrong is not the meaning of this post.

The meaning of today's tidbit is really to vent my frustration with the endless complaining about 2020.

First, let’s clarify something. You are not putting the toothpaste back into the tube. It is out and it will be out forever. The time we spent this year is spent and there is no getting back that time. If you spent the year complaining and groaning on about your governor or you mayor, or how this whole thing is unfair, welcome to life.

In reality, 2020 has been a great year for a majority of people. If you are reading this, that means that your cell service or your internet is still turned on so you have been paying bills. If you’ve been paying bills, you’ve also been putting food on the table. If you struggled this year in either of those areas or countless others, how much stronger are you for making it to this point?

“But Brandon,” you say, “what about all the fighting and the division?” Sure, there has been tons of it, but there has also been a lot of change brought on by those riots and protests. So here's the deal, you can be an eternal optimist or an eternal pessimist. Regardless, one thing is always for sure and that is that time doesn’t have feelings and doesn’t slow down for anyone.

Today's tidbit is for those who have struggled to cope with 2020. This tidbit is to help you start to grasp what is coming in the form of 2021 and how to make the most out of this gift of a new year.

1.       Thanksgiving isn't the only day to express gratitude; it should be every day. Now, let me get something off my chest that always bothers me. If expressing gratitude feels like a chore, you’re doing it wrong. I see so many people making posts on social media and that is as far as it goes in their lives. You should wake up and think of five things you are grateful for every day. After starting each day with an attitude of thankfulness, the mindset will become a habit. If being thankful feels like a task? You’re doing it wrong.

2.       You are one year closer to the end of a life with an unknown expiration date. That means that your dream bucket is probably still filled with things that you are running out of time to achieve. Feel the gravity of this truth and be more intentional with your time. If you crushed multiple series on Netflix this year, but didn’t crush any of the resolutions from new year’s 2020, you’re not being intentional with your time. In 2021 be intentional with everything you do and if you find that something isn't filling your life? Cut that something out of your life. It’s as simple as that.

It is a short but powerful tidbit today as we head into Thanksgiving week and the moral of the story is this: be grateful and be intentional. Whether or not you’ve enjoyed 2020, you just paid a year of your life for it. If you can build the habit of being intentional with your time and consistently be in a state of gratitude, you can kick 2021 off with a bang.

I want to wish everyone who reads this a Happy Thanksgiving! It might be different than what we’re used to but it is still a day to celebrate who we are as humans and all of the blessings we have in our lives to be grateful for.

Thanks,