Thankful Thanksgiving

by Nancy Vepraskas  - November 22, 2022

It’s time to make the critical shift from leading the business by yourself to leading an organization of people. At P2Excellence, we help you navigate the uncharted territories of organizational growth with clarity and confidence. 

Across the globe, we celebrate the bringing in of the harvest.  Here in the States (and some other places, too), we call it Thanksgiving.  Celebrating the bringing in of the harvest.  I like that phrase.  Someone told me once that sometimes we are asked to simply till the soil, and other times we plant seeds. And certainly, there are times when we are expected to be the ones watering, weeding, and even pruning.  Sometimes, we are fortunate to be the ones who celebrate the harvest.  Often times, we find that our personal work was completed when we accomplished only one or two of these tasks.  We till, someone else plants.  We weed, someone else harvests.  At harvest, we celebrate, and if we are wise, we remember that someone else tilled, planted, watered, and weeded.  Those folks deserve our gratitude.

Celebrating the bringing in of the harvest.  Giving thanks.  We have much to be grateful for.  Science tells us – and so does our heart – that practicing gratitude makes us both healthier and happier.  We are encouraged to move forward, to “do better” because we have remembered all that we are grateful for.  Keeping a gratitude journal, and adding to it every morning, sets a good intention to have a brighter and more thoughtful day.  Do you realize it is important to be grateful for life’s challenges?  Those challenges always reveal a part of us that is worth considering.  And that revelation is a reason to give thanks.

What did you harvest this year?  Where did you prepare the soil and the seed for others?  What opportunities and good fortune do you celebrate this year?  What have you learned about yourself and your circumstances that are worth giving thanks for?  What has made 2022 a year worth celebrating for you and those you love? 

This Thanksgiving, how will we do the ‘art’ of Thanksgiving in a way that will create opportunities for tilling, planting, watering, and weeding, so in 2023 and years to come we will easily gather to celebrate a new and better harvest?  I will share as I close that this year and every year, I am truly Thankful for all of you.  You have made my life richer, you have made me think deeper, to strive harder, and to know and love the experience of community.  I come to Thanksgiving celebrating you and this season. 

Take care and Happy Thanksgiving. 

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Nancy Vepraskas

Nancy Vepraskas is a recognized expert in leadership performance, employee engagement, and culture building. Specializing in the people side of business, Nancy guides leaders in activating change, optimizing talent, and improving processes and strategies to achieve business goals. The results include happier, more motivated employees; heightened customer commitment; and improved bottom-line performance.

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