It’s My Annual Gratitude List

It’s Thanksgiving week here in the United States and the official start of the holiday season. It’s also time for my annual gratitude list. I’ve done this every year I’ve been writing this blog and always look forward to doing it.

So without further ado, I give you, in no particular order, my 2016 Gratitude List:

Surrender

This was my word for 2016 and I feel like I lived into my OneWord more than ever before. I KNEW when Surrender showed up as my word that it would not be an easy word to embody. I was right!

It has proven to be a challenging but also a deeply rewarding experience of surrendering the old to make room for the new. I have let go of old beliefs and stories that no longer serve me, and creating new stories that better support the person I want to be. It was not an easy word to have but I am thankful that Surrender was my word this year.

My family

I have a very large family. I forget that until we all get together. Losing my grandfather so unexpectedly this year made me all the more thankful for them. For two very different reasons, I was able to gather with both sides of my family this year and I was reminded just how important family is to me. I don’t always see eye-to-eye with them but I am grateful to have so many to love. I realize how blessed I am and I don’t want to take it for granted.

The promise of possibility

I’ve been thru a lot of changes in the last two and a half years. When those changes started to unfold there were so many things that I thought would never be possible for me again.

This year, I have seen that perspective shift. New possibilities that I could never have dreamed of are presenting themselves to me. I am creating a life for myself that I didn’t think was possible. I am grateful for the promise of that possibility.

New connections

I made a lot of new connections this year. New business relationships were formed, which helped me expand my vision for my business. I also made connections with new friends on a personal level. Some of those people came into my life last year but this year our friendship has gone to a new level. Some came into my life this year and I’m a better person for it.

But most of all, I am thankful for new connections with old friends. This year I have experienced a new depth, in some of those friendships, that has surprised and delighted me. These friends are part of what keeps me sane and I am so grateful for them.

Two years in business

I celebrated two years in business this year. Any entrepreneur will tell you that the first few years are the hardest and the place where most people quit. I’ve been tempted to quit multiple times this year but I am too committed to this message I feel has been given to me for giving up to be an option. So here’s to many more years of celebrating being in business.

My clients

I would never have made it to two years without my clients. I am deeply grateful for the people who have trusted me to partner with them on their journey. The progress they make, the AHA’s they have that shift their perspective and ultimately their experience, all of this makes the work I do worthwhile. I wouldn’t be here without them and I am thankful for every single one of them.

In-person events

Over the summer I started doing in-person training around Charlotte. I’ve done about one a month and I have LOVED them. These events reminded me how much I love speaking and teaching to a live audience. It energizes me and lights me up in ways that are hard to put into words. I’m in my wheelhouse in that space and I plan to do more of them in 2017.

Lessons learned

This path I am on continues to yield surprising lessons for me. New layers are being peeled away and new growth is emerging every day. I often feel like a seedling in the ground, busting out of the limitations of its shell, fighting through the darkness, clamoring for water and sustenance anywhere it can be found. All in an attempt to become the best of what has been inside it all along.

This is my journey and I feel like 2016 brought me closer to being at home in myself than ever before. The journey is not over yet and I look forward to seeing where 2017 takes me, with its promise of new beginnings.

Okay, now it’s your turn. What are you grateful for this week? Tell me in the comments below or come over here on Facebook and let me know. I look forward to hearing from you.

From my heart to yours,