Holiday Survival Guide Pt. III

What are YOU grateful for?

‘Tis the season to be… grateful!  

I’m writing you this day-before-Thanksgiving reflecting on the phrase “To give thanks…” We’re talking about gratitude, right? Last year, at the end of the year, my accountability partner Jesse mentioned that he writes out his ‘wins for the year’ at the end of each year.  Having NOT done that myself, I decided to try it. 

It was profound.

What was profound was how my daily default mode FORGOT just how many awesome things were ‘in my rearview mirror.’ Then I remembered… that’s how it’s designed.  Remember, your brain is one old computer. It has not structurally adapted and evolved as fast as technology and culture have. We know this on an intellectual level, but forgot it at an emotional level.  What do I mean? I mean that your brain is designed to survive, NOT thrive. It’s designed to remember the BAD STUFF so you don’t do it again. It’s not pathological to remember the bad stuff and forget the good stuff.  It’s normal and natural. So, it takes some real conscious thinking to sift through the default negative memories, AKA the losses, to get to the gems which are the wins.

So, I looked through my calendar, and my photos, and ALL THESE AMAZING MEMORIES CAME FLOODING IN!  It was like they just needed permission to enter. They were there the whole time, but the negative memories just lined up in front of them. 

So with that, today, I’m going to celebrate WITH YOU what I’m thankful for as 2019 draws to a close, and I invite you to allow my list to trigger YOUR wins, so that once you finish reading mine, you take a few minutes to write down yours.  

• Led worship with my family
• Bought a new Nissan Murano to replace my 200K mile minivan
• FINALLY gave myself the gift of a 12 string guitar 
• FINALLY went to Tony Robbins’ “Unleash the Power Within” (game changer!)
• My wife left corporate america to be my business partner!
• Took my daughter to her first arena rock concert
• Hired TWO AMAZING business coaches 
• Published “Sonic Recovery: Harness the Power of Music to Stay Sober”
• Gave 20 paid talks all over the country (probably where you met me!)
• Swam with sea turtles, dolphins, & manta rays with my family in Hawaii
• Travelled the Pacific Northwest for 2 weeks with my family over the summer
• Launched my first online course based on my book
• Watched my daughter BLOSSOM in musical theater
• Attended a movie premiere at Mann’s Chinese Theater… and I was in the movie!
• Met a sloth
• Saw my favorite soccer team from England play here in CA… from the 4th row!
• Slept in a yurt
• Ate kelp right out of the ocean from my sea kayak
• Became a columnist for Recovery Today magazine
• Redesigned my speaker site after 6 years (look for the launch in December!)
• About to hire our first full time music therapist to begin in the New Year
• Didn’t drink any alcohol

So, thank you Apple Photos for keeping track of my memories, because A LOT of items on this list came from seeing pictures and me saying, “Oh YEAH! That was cool! (Especially the sloth! LOL)

Now, what’s ONE WIN from the year YOU are grateful for?  Please please PLEASE let me know by replying. I read every email I get. It means THE WORLD to me when someone writes me.  

Let me share in your win.  Leave a comment here or hit reply to my email, and let me know so I can give you a remote high five!

Enjoy your day tomorrow, and please don’t get sucked in to the lure of ‘stuff acquisition’ and leave the family to go buy stuff, no matter how good the deal is.  At the end of your days, you won’t remember your black friday deals. You’ll remember the people in your life that loved you, and that you loved. Make THEM the priority tomorrow.