“Cultivate the habit of being grateful for every good thing that comes to you, and to give thanks continuously. And because all things have contributed to your advancement, you should include all things in your gratitude.” -Ralph Waldo Emerson

Today is a day to be thankful. There are two ways to see the world, with thankfulness or with bitterness, and though we don’t get to choose our circumstances we do get to choose our outlook. So today I challenge you to choose thankfulness.

Some people will tell you thankfulness is naïve, that cultivating a life of gratitude somehow implies blind optimism in the face of an often-stark reality, but that’s not really it at all. Gratitude is the harder choice; choosing thankfulness over bitterness is the bigger hill to climb.

Thankfulness is about seeing the beauty in life, especially in the worst moments. Gratitude is being thankful for what each day brings, for the experiences that are shaping you into who you are.

So today, choose gratitude.

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