10 Things to Be Grateful for in 2020
Many people reflect on occasions like Thanksgiving and Christmas. One thing I have learned in 2020 is to focus on gratitude moment by moment and day by day. This one mindset shift has impacted everything from what I focus on to how I react and who I create with.
Last year, when I shared 10 Things to Be Grateful for in 2019 I never would have imagined a year like this one. I know I am not alone. A global pandemic, racial unrest, and extreme economic instability wasn't on anyone's vision board. Yet, there are still miracles in every moment and billions of things to be grateful for.
When I started shifting my focus, it impacted me spiritually, mentally and emotionally in every way. In 2016, I started creating and sharing my 90 Day Plan: 7 Steps to Success including everything from the spiritual to the financial.
2020 hasn't been the easiest year by far for any of us. It has forced us to face ourselves like never before in every way from the inside out. Not only that, but things we often took for granted on a local, national, and global basis have been stripped from us in ways we never would have imagined.
Ironically, last year my word for 2020 was revealed to me exactly at this time - Joy. It has helped carry me in more ways than one. God has used it powerfully to shift my perspective. My word for 2021 is Love, and I have no doubt will impact every area of my life as well.
In 2019, my word was Freedom. I faced shifts in every way and every area of life to create freedom from the inside out. This year - focusing on joy - is doing the same. Last year, when I wrote this post on Gratitude, I literally sat pool side in Mexico.
This year, my environment at my desk in Atlanta looks quite different. Yet, I feel gratitude, joy and contentment like I have never felt for this year and for the future I am creating.
What are you grateful for this year? Grab a journal and write down 10 things you are grateful for now.
What do you want create for your life? How do you want to feel in 2021? When you think of gratitude what do you think of? How could you choose gratitude even and especially in the hardest circumstances?
How could you transform your mindset and look for hidden treasures? Are you celebrating daily? One new practice I implemented in 2020 included writing down gratitude twice daily in the morning and evening, as well as keeping track of my "Celebrates" daily.
What I've learned is the more I focus on celebrating, the more I have to celebrate no matter what.
You will love these reflections of 10 Things to Be Grateful for in 2020.
Gratitude for 2020
Whether you are a 9-5er, an entrepreneur, and/or a community creator building a brand, gratitude is will transform you in every way. I started practicing gratitude consistently in 2011 and my methods and depth have transformed.
The most important thing I have learned is to be consistent day in and day out no matter what.
I won't sit here and pretend it is easy to return to gratitude in each moment something happens. I get it. It isn't easy to deal with internal and external struggles. We aren't promised an easy life without tests and trials.
Yet, I do and we do have a choice to choose to turn pain to purpose. I remind myself to reflect on the love, joy, and abundance I do have and not the temporary challenge. I choose to reflect on how the trail is chiseling and cultivating my character. I look for the ways I am stronger and calmer.
These 10 Things to Be Grateful for will help you put things into perspective for your gratitude list. It is in your free will to choose in the midst of it all to focus on what is pure, lovely and praiseworthy. One of my favorite verses is Phil 4:8 in the Bible.
This gratitude list includes themes I practice including spiritual, mental, relational and financial. I challenge myself amid chaos and circumstances to grow in every way.
I've often asked myself this year - what may I be grateful for today, how is this challenge changing me for the better, and how may this situation be used to help others?
When you choose to turn pain into purpose powerfully, our potential to help people on the planet is limitless.
1. Closer to Our Creator
I thought I had faith before 2020. At the same time, when I look at how my faith has grown, I am blown away. With all the added time granted this year, I evaluated how I use my time even more.
This year, I spent more time with God than ever both alone and in community.
I invested more time than ever and resources in time alone, nature walks, prayer, meditation, Bible Studies, journaling, books, fasting, and a spiritual retreat, What I found interesting is the more I prioritize time to Him, the more He multiples my time exponentially with simplicity, scaling, and community in every way.
Daily and Weekly: I increased my quiet time, prayers, and nature walks.
Throughout the year, I made time for studies, community and events including:
20/20 Vision Bible Study by Christine Caine
Armor of God Bible Study by Priscilla Shirer (2x)
Trustworthy Bible Study by Lysa TerKeurst
David Bible Study by Beth Moore
5+ Studies via Lifeway on the Free Ones Offered
Fervent Event with Priscilla Shirer and Anthony Evans
Lifeway Live with Beth Moore, Priscilla Shirer, Jackie Hill Perry & more
Woman Thou Art Loosed with TD Jakes
Girl Pray with Lifeway & Beth Moore
An incredible surprise blessing I encountered included a gift of a retreat from my friend Silvana on Captivating - by Stasi and John Eldridge - for 4 days near Dahlonega, GA. The focused time with women, time in nature, and dedication to breakthroughs and prayer catapulted so much in my life.
I reflect often on
Proverbs 29:18 "Without vision, people perish".
Like many of us, this year and the last several years, I've faced things I never thought I would. The situations have increased my faith and taught me humility, patience, and love like nothing else.