Some gratitude (and Happy Thanksgiving)
Happy Thanksgiving!
This week, I reflected on what I’m most grateful for. I’ll keep it short and sweet so it’s easily digestible in a post-feasting haze.
I am (shockingly) grateful for the unexpected
Often, when things don’t go to plan in my life, they end up working out quite well in a way I could not have predicted or planned. I feel this frequently—especially with missed opportunities, whether it’s jobs I could have taken, events I could have gone to, trips I could have gone on, or other things I “missed out on.” A top of mind example is that earlier this year, I was devastated when my manager decided to switch jobs. Since then, the structure of my team has morphed quite a few times. Ultimately, I’ve been exposed to way more insight, learning, and new experiences than I could have imagined. I’ve also gotten the chance to work with great new teammates. It’s made my day-to-day fascinating and my work very rewarding.
I am grateful for community
The more I pontificate on the state of adult friendship, the more I realize that there are very few one-size-fits-all friendships—I tend to have different friends to whom I go for different topics or matters. Through different chapters of life, as I go through new experiences and new questions pop up in my mind, I’ve been particularly grateful for the ability to find these random little pockets of community, often in unexpected places. Lately, I’ve noticed that a lot of these communities form through friends of friends and often exist online, meaning that location is no longer a barrier to feeling connected.
I am grateful to be challenged
I have recently felt that I am surrounded by many critical thinkers and people who go beyond the surface when assessing a problem or making a decision. Sometimes it’s exhausting because I wish I just had access to easy answers to things. However, I recognize how important it is to challenge and to be challenged—particularly in the world we live in where things that can be created so quickly and mindlessly, especially given the prevalence of AI tools, and downstream/often relatedly, fake news and social media exaggerations. I err on the side of moving overly quickly and I can be gullible (ask those closest to me, they’ll back this up!) and so I am grateful for a roster of minds around me that balance out my instincts.