What a Wonderful World

Let's take a moment to reflect on the good you have in your life

I'm a happier person.

I've been practicing gratitude during these last couple of months, and I'm starting to see its effects. You might have read the article I wrote about this a couple of weeks ago — I wrote it because it's part of my personal journey. The article explains why we should develop disciplined gratitude, and the effects it has on us, which is fundamental to understand the rest of this post. I recommend you to read it if you haven’t yet!

While this is a more personal and short, journal-style post, I'll share how practicing gratitude has changed my approach to discipline and resilience.

Holidays are coming — tomorrow is Thanksgiving here in the US 🦃 — and the end of the year isn't far away. While I'm not yet ready for a complete summary of my year, I have to say I've had my dose of great news and not-so-great news. This year has been a rollercoaster so far.

I won't share all the details, but I want to share how I feel about it. I don't feel defeated, I don't feel bad. I feel grateful. I am grateful. This has helped me find joy in the little things.

This quote from Brené Brown captures exactly what I've been experiencing:

Gratitude without practice may be a little like faith without works—it's not alive. Practicing gratitude is how we acknowledge that there's enough and that we are enough. When we are grateful for what we have, even when it's less than what we think we deserve, we are actively choosing a mindset of abundance over a mindset of scarcity. It's in this practice that joy finds a way into our hearts.

Given that tomorrow we celebrate the blessings of the year, I want to talk about counting my blessings and maybe help you start your own disciplined gratitude journey. I'll share ideas about what we can be thankful for — both small and big things. Being consistently grateful helps us become more resilient, which in turn helps us deal better with pain and supports our discipline journey.

Always Count Your Blessings

It's important to look around and identify who and what makes your life better. When we regularly acknowledge these things, we build a foundation of strength that helps us stay disciplined even during tough times. Here are my blessings for this year:

I feel grateful to have an amazing wife¹ who supports me in all my adventures and misadventures and is an amazing partner in raising our child. I'm thankful for having a healthy child whom I can spend so much time with, watching him grow and develop amazingly. I'm also thankful for the healthy baby who will join us very, very soon 🎉. I'm thankful that my health isn't as bad as I thought — it served as a good reminder of what matters and that I matter, so I should take better care of myself, for me and my family.

I'm also thankful for the love I receive from family and friends across different parts of the world — it never ends. Finally, I'm thankful for this journey and for having the opportunity to share it with you. It's making me a better person and helping shape the role model I want to be for my kids.

Building a Gratitude Practice

Now, all this gratitude wouldn't be possible without changing my mindset and worldview. Despite the obstacles, it's on me to stand up, dust off, and maintain — and fight for — my happiness.

The Clock Keeps Ticking

If you need some help getting started with being thankful, here are some ideas:

• Remember every day is a new day to start over. As long as we are healthy and capable, the slate is always clean.

• Ask yourself, do you have:

  • A roof, warm water, food for every meal of the day? (Basic needs met = foundation for growth)

  • Somebody to rely on, trust, and share how you feel? (Support system = resilience builder)

  • A career that inspires you to get better every day? (Purpose = motivation)

  • Small rituals that help you be your best self? (Daily practices = discipline)

• Remember a time this year when somebody made you feel loved. What triggered that feeling? Why did their actions make you feel that way? Taking time to analyze these moments helps us recognize and appreciate support when it appears.

Opportunities for gratitude are everywhere. Sometimes all it takes is to stop and look around. It could be:

• Your morning coffee that helps you start your day right

• A colleague's help with a challenging task

• The quiet moment before bed when you reflect on your progress

Takeaways

Although hard, I invite you to not take things for granted. There is always something to be grateful for — I've shared some ideas above. Take the time to reflect on it, and maybe start a gratitude journal, a gratitude jar, or maybe even a Substack newsletter.

To get started:

• Choose one reflection question from above for your daily practice

• Set a specific time (morning coffee, bedtime) for gratitude reflection

• Start small: just one thing you're grateful for each day

While short, I want this post to help you start your own disciplined gratitude practice. I can attest that being grateful helps develop resilience to keep moving forward despite obstacles. By becoming more disciplined, we become more resilient, so keep pushing through. Keep being grateful. This will pay off in the long run. Gratitude is a sentiment, a tool, a mindset.

What are you grateful for?

Have a great rest of the week!

1. Ashley, if your are reading this, I love you ❤️. Thanks for your patience and love, and for everything you do for us. You are the best!