“You’ve got to be kidding me!”
This is what I said to myself as I woke up with a sore throat on the morning of July 4, 2025.
Yes, here it was Independence Day, and now I just knew that my holiday weekend was screwed.
The sore throat, I just knew, would be followed by head congestion, drainage, and maybe even (please, get out your violin) a full-blown case of pharyngitis.
I just knew. I was certain. This was terrible! Poor me! Why me? Why now?
Now, keep in mind, in my effort to continue building the Gratitude Habit, I developed a gratitude habit building tool that I use throughout my day (P.S. I’ll be sharing it with you in my FREE Gratitude Habit Workshop).
But, guess what did NOT occur to me that morning of July 4, 2025? (Drum roll, please…)
It did not occur to me to be grateful for my cold.
But, should this absence of gratitude be shocking?
Of course not!
Of course I wasn’t grateful for my cold. I was uncomfortable and my plans for the weekend needed to change – I was inconvenienced.
As humans we are wired to label the uncomfortable as unfavorable.
And, when something is deemed unfavorable, it is labeled as unacceptable and most certainly unappreciated.
Here is the subconscious logic:
Uncomfortable = Unfavorable = Unacceptable = Unappreciated
See, when I label something as unfavorable, what usually follows is some combination of complaining, self-pity, anger, and anxiety.
But who am I to know what’s actually favorable to me and (since it isn’t just about me) the rest of the Universe?
I wonder what might HAVE occurred had Ibeen able to carry out my plans for the weekend?
I wonder what might NOT have occurred had I been able to carry out my plans for the weekend?
I’ll never know.
And, while I don’t know the ultimate effects of the change in my plans, I do know some of the proximate lessons and growth I experienced as a result…and, I can be grateful for those things.
Now, this wasn’t exactly the most difficult thing I’ve been through in life, but you get the point.
I was recently in a restaurant, and observed a mother attempting to wipe the food off the face of her toddler. This little guy wasn’t exactly brimming with gratitude.
Why? He was certain that what she was doing was unfavorable. Why? Because it was uncomfortable.
If I’m pursuing comfort, and I’m certain that I know what’s best for me, then I might be grateful for only for things that are comfortable (although, even that is unlikely given the way we’re wired) and I’ll certainly be ungrateful for anything uncomfortable.
However, if I’m pursuing growth, then I’ll see the uncomfortable as an essential ingredient in growth and say “Thank you!” for it.
Even if I don’t know how it’s leading to growth, I can choose to trust that it is.
The Gratitude Habit is about letting go of the certainty that I know what’s favorable and unfavorable – what’s best for me – and being grateful for the comfortable AND the uncomfortable.
If you’re interested in learning more about what working with me could look like, you can schedule a complimentary consultation with me (via Zoom) by clicking this link.