Good morning! Who’s ready for some turkey?
Even in a week where we are celebrating family and holidays, and perhaps not as inundated with work as we usually are (yeah, right), one small positive thought in the morning can change your whole day. Here’s the quote:
“No one who achieves success does so without acknowledging the help of others. The wise and confident acknowledge this help with gratitude.”
Alfred North Whitehead
This is a special Thanksgiving-themed MMM. Sometimes I like to focus on motivation; other times the quote is about attitude or self-reflection. This one is all about gratitude and thankfulness. So how can I make use of this in my own life?
No one who achieves success does so without acknowledging the help of others. This is so key, and it is time to start really emphasizing this idea in our thinking. How many times have you heard about a self-made man, or someone who earned everything they ever got?
While that might well be true, and there are plenty of hard-working people who do not ask for much, I am here to tell you that everybody has had some help along the way. And quite frankly, it is a false narrative, and probably an unhealthy and detrimental mindset to say that you have not had any help.
Instead, the wise and confident acknowledge this help with gratitude. Yes they do. And it just makes sense – it takes more confidence to admit that you have received assistance than it does to just take credit for everything yourself. And it takes wisdom to look at where you have been, what help you have received, how it helped you along, and what you can learn from it going forward.
Oh, and one more thing: those who realize they needed help are more likely to help others. Now wait a minute, you say. This post is not about helping others or giving back or altruism – it’s about gratitude. But here’s the thing about that gratitude: it will make you realize some things. It will make you realize that those people who helped you are the ones you admire the most. It will make you realize that in helping you, those people also received some benefit. Maybe it wasn’t tangible, but rather just a good or satisfied feeling. It will make you realize that it was done by someone in the course of making things better. And that’s the kind of person I want to be.
So here’s my challenge to myself for this holiday week: acknowledge the help of others that has led to any success of mine, no matter how small or trivial. So many times during the Thanksgiving and holiday season we think about the abstract and emotional (and important!) concepts that we are grateful for: family, love, support, etc. But I think this week and this season can be about gratitude for real tangible help in a professional context. I am grateful for attorneys who took the time to teach and train me over the years. I am grateful for judges who corrected me, were patient with me, and overlooked or forgave my “enthusiasm” at times. I am grateful for colleagues and support staff who helped me on projects, who gave me suggestions or ideas, and who corrected my mistakes. I am grateful for clients who put their trust in me, and for clients who stuck with me and had patience through the often long and frustrating legal process. I am grateful for people I rely on all the time – court clerks, property managers, expert witnesses, engineers, contractors, and yes, even opposing counsel, who (and don’t quote me on this) occasionally have a good point as well.
And of course, most of all, I am grateful for the real star of Thanksgiving dinner.
Have a great (and thankful) week everybody.