2022 Birthday Gratitude List

Here are the 25 things that I am grateful for this year:

This is now the fourth year in a row that I think I’m doing this.

People have asked me what I’m doing for my birthday this year, and it came down to a few things:

• Steak dinner
• Working
• Reading
• Bible and prayer time
• Birthday gratitude list

It’s an essential part of how I am spending my time and how I want to celebrate and cement another year of life.

Here are the 25 things I am grateful for this year:

1. Good favor with the senior leaders of Lexington International
2. An able mind that can solve problems and help others
3. Closeness to God and an environment that pushes me closer to Him
4. Comfortable living that allows me to sleep without worry and wake up with food in the refrigerator and clean water
5. Health and an able body
6. The desire and aptitude to read books and digest complex information
7. Provision and growth
8. Near fluency in Spanish and the ability to connect with the Latin culture
9. A generous heart that can give within the opportunities presented in life
10. Travel and the ease of going places
11. Driving and the feeling of thrill and love
12. Love and a full heart
13. Strategy and planning
14. People that are confident and open in their feelings
15. Prophets and words from God that have been shared
16. Clarity of vision and skillset
17. Intelligence and a mind that is nowhere near filled
18. Creativity and people in my life that have brilliant ideas
19. Empathy
20. God’s grace
21. Miracles and closed doors that are opened and paths that are directed
22. Connections and relationships all over the world
23. A God-given destiny and purpose
24. Delicious food, like steak and chocolate
25. Reminders and accountability that keep me on the straight and narrow path as much as I can be

This was probably the quickest that I have ever written this. I put 25 things on this list that I am grateful for in less than maybe 15 or 20 minutes. I am so grateful for so many things.

Every morning that I wake up, the first thing that I do is a morning gratitude list. There have been very few times I will even get out of bed before documenting 5–15 things that I am grateful for. Today, that list included: Truth, Rest, Progress, Love, and Honesty.

I spent 24 seconds documenting those initial things for my journal, will add the 3 things that I did well today and 2 areas to improve, and will write a reflective journal of today’s day when I wake up tomorrow (just as I wrote a reflective journal for yesterday this morning).

Next, I am off to try to break the 6:00 mile barrier for myself. Which I am nervous about but it needs to happen. I need to do this.

Then, I will hit the weights, come back, and read what I call my “trophy shelf of compliments.” This goes back to 2017 and includes 98 things that people have said about me since then which have greatly impacted me. This way I can affirm my unique identity whenever I need to or desire to and remember to give thanks for the special people in my life.

That’s all I’ve got. I’m 25 now. That’s cool.

Done. Next.