I gave up celebrating my birthday years ago. Once you reach my age, the thrill of blowing  out a bunch of candles looses its appeal. Besides, I’m so old you can’t get a cake big enough for all of them. I have my parents to thank for my good health because the only pills I take are vitamins. Birthdays for me are a time for reflection. A time to look back on the year that was and think about the lessons learned. I figure if you aren’t learning anything new you are robbing yourself of the opportunity to grow. It’s a time to plan for the year ahead. Life is a planned event. Wishing and hoping won’t make it so. But mostly my birthday is a time to celebrate my accomplishments and think about all those things that I am thankful for.

I am thankful for:

• A very special someone in my life who loves me – faults and all
• Musical friends and the love of music.
• What I get to do for a living
• My son
• My grandchild – who I get to hang out with
• My ex-wife who is one of my closet friends
• My siblings – Greg, Terry, Jerry, Randy and specially Laurie
• Golf – playing and watching – but mostly playing
• Movies
• Red wine
• Friday night date nights with my special girl Chloe
• Quite alone time
• Coffee
• Spending time with the love of my life. Nothing in this world beats that
• NFL football
• College sports
• A great italian restaurant
• French fries with mayo
• Hamburgers with bacon and cheese
• Friends and family – too many to mention them all
• Loving parents who are no longer with me but still watch over me
• My girls – Minnie and Calley
• Today
• Tomorrow
• Blue skies, green grass and sunshine
• September weather
• Four seasons, although I’m not really big on winter.
• Being another year older – Not Necessarily Wiser

I could go on and on and on. I have a great deal to be thankful for. My life is still a mystery to me. There is no way I would have predicted being where I am at this juncture in my life. It’s been filled with both highs and lows. The lows have made me stronger. I know that there is nothing that I can’t overcome. The highs have taught me to be humble and not to get too full of myself.  Reality has a way of bringing you back down to earth.

What are you thankful for? In spite of all the craziness that is going on in your life, take a moment and make a list of all those things you are thankful for. You’ve got a lot going for you – you just may have forgotten them.

Copyright (c) 2016. Brian Smith – Voted Top 100 Leadership Expert, Management Consultant and Author. specializing in soft-skills training and leadership development. To find out more about Brian and what he can do for you and your organization visit. https://briansmithpld.com