5d • Sunday Reflections
Sunday Reflections: November 30th 2025
Thanksgiving just passed. And if you're like most people, you spent some time thinking about what you're grateful for. Your family. Your health. Your job. The roof over your head. The good things.
That's easy. Gratitude is easy when life is good.
Here's the harder question: What are you grateful for that didn't feel good? What struggle shaped you? What failure taught you? What hard moment made you who you are? Because gratitude isn't just about the wins. It's about the whole experience. The falls. The setbacks. The moments you didn't think you'd get through.That's where the real growth is. And if you can find gratitude there, you unlock something most people never do.
I struggle with this. I'm constantly trying to improve myself. Always pushing. Always looking for what's next. What needs to be better. Where I'm falling short. It's exhausting.
This weekend gave me an opportunity to slow down. To actually reflect on the progress I've made. The people I'm grateful for. The day-to-day challenges that grow me.
The demand I put on myself? That's part of what shapes me. The pressure. The expectations. The constant push to be better. I used to think that was a problem. But it's the fuel. The struggle isn't something to fix. It's something to be grateful for. Because without it, I wouldn't be who I am. I wouldn't have built what I've built. I wouldn't have the relationships I have. I wouldn't have learned what I've learned. The hard moments? They're not interruptions. They're part of the experience.
The Stoics called it amor fati. Love your fate. Not just accept it. Love it. All of it.
Marcus Aurelius said, "The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way." The obstacle isn't blocking your path. It is the path. Buddhism teaches that suffering is the teacher. You don't grow in comfort. You grow in discomfort. In struggle. In the moments that break you open and force you to rebuild. Nietzsche said, "He who has a why to live can bear almost any how."
The struggle gives you the why.
So here's my challenge.
What struggle are you grateful for? What hard moment shaped you? What failure taught you something you couldn't have learned any other way? Most people avoid this. They focus on the wins. The highlights. The easy stuff. But the real gratitude is in the struggle. The moments you didn't think you'd survive. The setbacks that forced you to get better. The people who pushed you.
That's what makes you who you are. This week, be grateful for the hard things too. That's where the growth is.
What struggle are you grateful for?
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Sunday Reflections: November 30th 2025
