I love this time of year, but perhaps more so, when I lived in Fairfax VA many years ago. I still remember the energy in the air. Thanksgiving is a US holiday and the positivity is palpable around this time of year, which is perhaps why Thanksgiving scores so high among American holidays.

Gratitude
Gratitude has a whole array of physical health benefits, not to mention psychological. Studies have proved that the benefits of practicing gratitude are limitless.

If you regularly practice gratitude by taking time to notice and reflect upon the things you are thankful for, positive emotions envelope you, leaving you feeling more alive, sleeping better and expressing more compassion and kindness, even your immune system is stronger.

It’s the little things
You don’t have to wait for a momentous occasion to express gratitude – like receiving a promotion at work, you can be thankful every single day for something – today I was thankful that my daughter said “I love you more mom” as I left the house.

As with many things, journaling helps with this. Why not start a gratitude journal? I have one on my phone – just a little note I write on most days of things I am grateful for. This helps me to also reflect on the year and significantly increases my well-being and life satisfaction. It also helps me when I write a gratitude letter to someone who has made a great impact on my life.

With that would I like to give thanks, to every single guest who reads my newsletters. Time is one resource that is most precious. I am so thankful for those spending their time reading mine. I really appreciate it.

It takes bravery to be vulnerable, to share my growth process so publicly on this platform. But with every reply from someone with whom it resonated and perhaps even made a difference in their lives, makes me inclined to be brave and share more, it also helps a whole heap with my gratitude practice.

This year has been one of the most challenging in my growth process. I have learnt so many new things, challenged myself on so many levels and am so thankful for taking that first step. It only takes one step to start a journey and my journey has in many ways just begun. You never know what God has in store for you. I have learned to have patience and trust and that all is going according to plan. The plan may not have ultimately been mine, but I know that God has wonderful things in store for me.

One plan that didn’t go as “planned” was Woodlands Academy. Little did I know the many obstacles on this new road. One of them being our Occupational Health and Safety. I honestly thought it was as easy as 1, 2, 3 – put up a few fire extinguishers and Bob’s your uncle – HA HA HA – that is the sound of the Universe laughing at me!

The last piece of the puzzle is finally in – we received our Occupational Health and Safety certificate on Monday with 98% pass rate. My grateful jar is overflowing at this point. 2 years and many, many, many files of paperwork, a dedicated health and safety rep and a lot of training later have we overcome! Thank you Thank you to my incredible team!