This season of gratitude always reminds me how important it is to step back, look around, and be thankful for the people in my life who have helped me along this road.
The busyness of life can sweep through and keep us from ever expressing gratitude to these important people. Even during this holiday weekend, we get wrapped with traditions and bustle so much that we forget the true meaning: thankfulness. Gratitude was made to be expressed, we cannot let it slip through our fingers.
Today, I would like to invite you to make a list of individuals for whom you have gratitude.
Yes, you can even go so far as taking out a piece of paper and a marker and taking the time to write them down.
It could be a long list, it could be a short list, but who in your life has made you a better friend, spouse, and individual?
The following list is my own results from this exercise. An overwhelming sense of thankfulness flooded me as I wrote each name down. Some have been lifelong friends, some have come in and out, many support my family in some fashion and others are the people that I wake up and share my life with on a daily basis. However, this list in no way encompasses all the people in my life that deserve my gratitude. This is just a small sample of the truly amazing people whom I have gratitude for in my heart:
My wife, Julie.
My daughters, Jemma and Jolie.
My parents, Bruce and Sandy.
My grandparents (living and dead). And those that came before them.
My wife’s parents. Victor and Marina.
Aura
Our dog Rocco. And Stella who will always be in our heart.
EVERY Positively Positive reader and fan.
EVERY Positively Positive contributor.
My past clients.
My past teachers.
From this point my list will be in alphabetical order:
Adam Baker
Agapi Stassinopoulos
Alissa Finerman
Amber Rae
Amrit Khalsa
Angella Nazarian
Antonio Ortiz
Arielle Ford
Barbara Seymour Giordano
Bethany Butzer
Bill Stierle
Billie Ohanesian
Bliss Young
Brad Bedford
Brandon Walowitz
Brenda Menendez
Brett Carella
Brett Harris
Brian Johnson
Brian Kessler
Byron Paidoussi
Carol Bovil
Celia Lee
Chava Tombosky
Chaz Guest
Chelsea Hettrick
Chelsea Roff
Chris Assad
Claire Wineland
Craig Katz
Dabo Che
Dallas Clayton
Dan McDonald
Daniel Goodstadt
Danielle LaPorte
Danny Greenberg
Darren Maddern
Daryl Snyder
Davi Khalsa
David Copperfield
David Garcia
David Katz
David Reed
Deepak Chopra
Desiree Miller
Dodinsky
Don Mink
Douglas “Disco” Hylton
Dr. Edison de Mello
Dr. Frank Lipman
Dr. Jay Gordon
Dr. Lawrence Meyers
Dr. Lissa Rankin
Dr. Myles Spar
Drew Francis
Eddie Trump
Elise Ballard
Elizabeth Guber
F.E. Young
Fiji – All of my friends in Fiji who were there for us this summer.
Frank Cortinas
Fred and Francie Glassman
Fred Arnold
Fred Kreger
Gabby Bernstein
Gary Goldstein
Gary Vaynerchuk
George French
Gerard Austen
Gene Fisher
Gina Hunt
Gina Lobaco
Giselle Fernandez
Gordon Haas
Gotham Chopra
Grant Peele
Gretchen Rubin
Guru Singh
Gurudhan Khalsa
Guruperkarma Kaur
Hannah Brencher
Harriet Seitler
Heidi Krupp-Lisiten
Heifara and Nani Duterte
Ilene Silk
Ishitia Gupta
Jack Canfield
Jacob Shallman
Jason Barrett
Jason Gold
JC Gabler
Jeff Frankel
Jeff Greene
Jen Groover
Jennifer Garcia
Jennifer Pastiloff
Jennifer Waldburger
Jessica Law
Jill Spivack
Jim Wiatt
Joan Fink
Joan Martin
JoAnn Anderson
Joanne Goulbourne
Jodi Guber
Joel Lubin
John Farrand
John Herzfeld
John Maxwell
Jonathan Fields
Jonathan Shulman
Jonathan Wolk
Jordan Reasoner
Joshua Willis
Joy Watt
Juliano
Karen Rosenthal
Karen Salmansohn
Karl Robb
Kevin Boylan
Kim Warren
Kyle Maynard
Kris Carr
Krishna Kaur
Kurt Reisig
Lara Shriftman
Lash Fry
Latham Thomas
Lewis Howes
Linda Bruno
Lisa Cypers Kamen
Lisa Doyle
Lucia Mancuso
Mak Takano
Mallika Chopra
Maranda Pleasant
Marc Erlbaum
Marci Shimoff
Marcelene Dyer
Margaret French Isaac
Marie Delcioppo
Mark and Ann Marie Cappellano
Mastin Kipp
Maya Watson
Melissa Nordquist
Michael Caplan
Michael Carter
Michael Eisen
Michael Foonberg
Michael Glynn
Michele Ruiz
Mike Caputo
Mike Murphy
Mitch Thrower
Mrs. Green
Myisha Ramsey
Nancy Levin
Nick Gouche
Nick Ortner
Nikita Pritchett
Nils Johnson
Nina Boski
Oprah Winfrey
Pamela Salzman
Patricia Karpas
Patsy Kennedy
Patty Aubery
Patty Gift
Paul Benec
Penny Hintz
Peter Fischer
Rabbi Avraham Zajac
Rabbi David Eshel
Rebecca Musser
Regina Romero
Richmond Kodua
Robbie Tombosky
Robert Cooper
Robert Sturman
Roberta Haas
Saje Dyer
Sam Cawthorn
Sasha Sable
Satish Dholakia
Saundra Parola
Savannah Cookson
Scott Rudin
Selena Soo
Serena Dyer
Seth Godin
Sheri Salata
Siree Franks
Siridyal Kaur Khalsa
Skye Dyer
Sommer Dyer
Sophie Parienti
Stefanie Hagen
Stephanie Lee
Teresa Collett
Terri Cole
Tim Sanders
Tom Shadyac
Tommy Rosen
Tony Robbins
Tracee Stanley
Tracy Fleiss
Valerie Wildman
Xian Horn
Waylon Lewis
Wayne Dyer
And of course my gratitude for G-D is overwhelming.
I could go on and on…
Share a few people from your own list in the comment section below. I would love to read about the bright individuals in your own life who have made you the person you are today.
Eric Handler is the publisher and co-founder of Positively Positive. Check out his TEDx talk. Follow Eric on TWITTER.
*Photo by mtsofan.
