The 12 Months of Thanks

"The 12 Months of Thanks''
Chad Soileau
11/20/2019

“I am grateful for what I am and have. My Thanksgiving is perpetual” - Henry David Thoreau
 
For most of us November signifies a time of the year where we enjoy the beginning of Fall and cooler weather, the smell of burning campfires and fireplaces and watching football!

November is also a time of year in which many of us are reflecting back to the year past and are starting to look forward for the year to come. Traditionally, Thanksgiving is the one day of the year where we take the opportunity to be grateful and give thanks for the things that have enriched our lives.

As I reflected back over the past year I asked myself a question: “What if we all took the opportunity to look at Thanksgiving a little differently and captured the spirit of “giving thanks” by spreading it across the whole year as opposed to one day in November?” A noble question to ask of someone but not an impossible task to accomplish with a little thought and organization.

In 2020, I challenge each of you to do just that. Find 12 things to be appreciative of and dedicate it to a month in the year. Each of you will have different things to be thankful for, make it your own and arrange them how you see fit, there’s no wrong ideas or order. Below is some ideas to encourage you and to make your own.

“Thanksgiving was never meant to be shut up in a single day” - Robert Caspan Lintner
 
January                Be thankful for your clients – Their trust and faith in you have created your business. Without them, you have no business.
February              Be thankful for your family – Without them, you have no purpose
March                   Be thankful for friends and peers - they enrich our lives and bring peace and joy on ordinary and difficult days
April                      Be thankful for the people you work with that support your efforts to be successful.
May                      Be thankful for your failures - There are always lessons to be learned from them.
June                    Be thankful for your success – The growth and reward you gain from lessons learned in failure.
July                      Be thankful for your physical and mental health – with it, your tenure in this profession can last as long a Supreme Court Justice!
August                 Be thankful for your ability to learn – to be better and good at what you offer, you always have to be learning.
September           Be thankful for your ability to articulate concepts and ideas to clients
October                Be thankful for your ability to listen – at its essence, it’s our most important skill in this profession
November            Be thankful to yourself - By striving to be a better person every day, month and year
December            Be thankful for your profession - that gives you the ability to live a life of significance by helping others make better decisions about the most factors and events in their lives.
 
Finally, I leave you with one last quote that I believe captures the spirit of the message of thanks and gratitude. Our thanks should be an ongoing event and practiced on daily basis. Doing so will not only enrich the lives of others, it will also prove to have a profound effect on your as well.

“What if today, we were just grateful for everything” - Charlie Brown

‍