Here’s a just a glimpse of my running list –

• Christmas cards still to sign and send
• Presents to wrap and ship
• Didn’t master several new social media strategies
• Didn’t blog more than once a month
• Didn’t run regularly

Sound familiar?  Seriously, we could totally beat ourselves up fretting over all of our shortcomings, challenges and issues we may have faced this year.

But stop for a minute.  Take a deep a breath – and let’s look at the other side of this coin.

What if you asked yourself “WHAT GIFTS HAVE I GIVEN THIS YEAR?”

Think about the clients whose businesses or life paths you altered in a positive way, or the co-workers you helped with a project, or the community organizations and non-profits that you supported.

Think about the “just checking in” phone calls or texts that you DID make. Don’t focus on the ones that you didn’t.

Instead of the obsessing on the perfect family dinners that you may rarely have or the not-so-tidy house you keep, think about the time you spent standing around the kitchen island laughing at a really stupid joke or hugging a loved one when things weren’t going so well.

Instead of fretting about the time you didn’t spend with your children, think about the time that you did.  Whether driving them around or being on the sidelines at a game or in the concert crowd, you were giving gifts!

I’m certain that there are probably hundreds if not thousands of people – family, friends, co-workers and strangers – who benefitted this year from your gifts of talent, time, love, attention, kindness, donations and probably just a smile at a time they needed it.

They may not have all been able to thank you, but I am.

[clickToTweet tweet=”THANK YOU! The world’s a better place for all you do! Keep up the great work! @sheesalt #gratitude” quote=”THANK YOU VERY MUCH! The world is a better place for all that you do! Keep up the great work!”]

(Credit and shout-out to author Laura Vanderkam – my first and favorite client – for this inspiration on “changing the narrative”.  It’s far better to focus on what we are doing right instead of having a persistently negative mindset about what’s going wrong.  To quote her: “Nobody wins in the Misery Olympics. Victory comes from refusing to take part.”)

Please share in the comments what gifts have you given this year, or connect with me on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, or Instagram.  And if you are having trouble coming up with the gifts you have given, shoot me an email, I’d love to help you with your list!