Thanksgiving has always been one of my favourite holidays.

I grew up in the US, but it’s been 35 years since I left and last sat down stateside for a proper family Thanksgiving meal.

Sure, I go back home often, but Thanksgiving is one of those times of the year that is almost impossible to break away for more than a couple of days.
It is a long way to travel for a slice of pumpkin pie.

But Thanksgiving has always been one of my favourite holidays.
There is something so elemental about gathering around a table with loved ones, breaking bread and giving thanks.

I even have fond memories of acting in the school Thanksgiving play, dressed up as a Native American, sharing a meal with Pilgrims. A simpler, if rather tone deaf, time.

Since then I have lived in Japan, UK, South Africa and Portugal, and I have always tried to mark the day in some quiet way. Just a moment to take stock of all I am grateful for.

And in recent years I have added this to my daily, morning routine.
Before the noise of the day begins, I spend a few minutes reflecting on what I’m thankful for.
Not as a ritual to tick off, but as a way to arrive in my life more fully.

It can sound a bit woo-woo, I know.
But it has made a genuine difference.

Psychologists call it attentional training.
Research shows that when we intentionally focus on gratitude, the brain releases more dopamine and serotonin.
These are the chemicals that help stabilise mood and broaden our sense of possibility.

Even a short daily practice can shift the nervous system out of survival mode and into a more balanced state.
When we pause to name what is good in our lives, even briefly, the brain shifts out of threat mode.
Stress softens, perspective widens and we become more present.
Gratitude does not erase difficulty, it simply stops it from becoming the whole story.

And it’s something I work on with many of the leaders I coach.
When they feel overwhelmed or stuck, we often start by grounding the conversation in what is already working.
Not as a way of avoiding the hard stuff, but as a way of strengthening their capacity to face it.
Gratitude creates a bit more room inside the mind.
Enough space to think clearly, to decide carefully and to lead with steadier hands.

So today, while my extended family gathers in the US for way too much turkey, football and a well-deserved nap on the sofa, I will be thinking of them from afar.
And I’ll take a moment to give thanks for the life I have now, the people I walk alongside and the work that gives me meaning.

Happy Thanksgiving to those celebrating.
And for the rest of us, perhaps today is as good a day as any to pause and remember what is good.