I’ve never been a fan of the typical “let’s all go around the table and say what we’re thankful for” Thanksgiving tradition. I find most of the time, you hear the same generic stuff. My family. My health. Roof over my head, food on my plate. Not that I’m ungrateful for those things, but I feel like they are sort of a given.

It’s rare to hear someone say, “I’m thankful for the challenges I faced this year that helped me learn and grow and become a better person”. But these are some of the greatest things to be thankful for. It’s easy to find someone “worse off” than us, to find something we have that others don’t which we should be thankful for. But have you ever considered that their so-called “lack” may be something they are thankful for?

Would you believe that I am thankful that I broke my right foot last October? Sure, I couldn’t drive and it was difficult and slow getting to my son’s bus stop every day. Sure, it hurt and required lots of physiotherapy to reclaim full functionality again. But, it gave me the opportunity to reconsider the path I was on with my business, who I was, and what I wanted to do. And in the end, I came out a better person, with a new, but quickly thriving business!

Here’s another Thanksgiving twist to consider: harvest the power of positive thinking. Be thankful for situations, circumstances, things that you wish to have, even though you don’t currently have them. Believe that you will have them, and appreciate them now. For example, if you want a certain new job, be thankful now for that new job. I am thankful for all the new clients I will get to work with. (In addition to all the ones I currently have of course!)

So here’s your chance. What challenges and new opportunities are you thankful for? Share your stories in the comment section below, even if you aren’t celebrating Thanksgiving now like us folks in Canada.