Every year around this time, I like to take a moment and step back – not to look at goals or numbers or strategies, but to reconnect with something even more important. Something foundational. Something that, if you really live by it, has the power to transform everything.
Gratitude.
Now, I don’t mean the kind of gratitude that’s confined to a holiday table or printed on a decorative sign in your kitchen. I mean something deeper. Something that lives in your daily habits, your perspective, your leadership, your decision-making. The kind of gratitude that becomes part of the fabric of your life – and your practice.
Because here’s what I’ve come to believe over all these years of working with so many doctors: Gratitude is the most powerful force for good on the planet.
Thanksgiving is a perfect reminder of that but it shouldn’t be the only reminder. If gratitude only shows up once a year, then it becomes more like a costume than a character trait. It becomes symbolic instead of structural.
The truth is, real gratitude is like blood to the body, oxygen to the brain… it’s something that flows through your work, your family, your values, your very identity. The more a person chooses to live with appreciation and thanksgiving (not once a year, but every day), the more fulfilled, successful, and joyful their life becomes.
This is something I remind myself of constantly: gratitude isn’t a reward for the outcome; it’s part of the process. For all of us, especially those of us who’ve chosen this path of ownership and leadership, that’s a vital distinction to make.
Be Grateful for the Work Itself
Too often we hear the message to be thankful for the rewards. The success. The money. The results. And yes, we should be – but not at the expense of missing what made those things possible in the first place.
The work.
Not just the hard work, not just the daily grind, but the opportunity to contribute. To make a difference. To show up and lead. To have something that matters to build and steward.
I said it this way recently: don’t apologize for expecting what you’ve earned but don’t resent what it takes to earn what you expect.
Be grateful for the opportunity to earn. Be grateful for the ability you have to pursue something great and then use that gratitude as fuel to keep going.
When you think about your practice, your team, your patients, your community – you begin to see how layered this gratitude really is. You’re not just thankful for the results… you’re thankful for everything that makes those results possible.
The effort. The persistence. The challenges. The mistakes. Even the setbacks. All deserve just as much gratitude
We all want to celebrate the harvest, but the real win is being thankful for the planting too.
Be Thankful for Who You Are Becoming
We tend to thank everyone else, and that’s good, of course. We think of our family, our team, our country, those who came before us. But today, I want you to include yourself in that circle of gratitude.
Because when you look at who you’ve had to become in order to be here right now – at the helm of a practice, guiding a team, caring for patients, building a life on your own terms – that deserves appreciation too.
So be thankful for your mind… but more than that, for what your mind can do. For the ideas it generates. For the clarity it seeks. For the vision it holds.
Be thankful for your desire… but more than that, for the fire that keeps it alive. For the fact that you still care enough to show up with intention. To do things the right way.
Be thankful for your motivation… but more than that, for the source of it. For the why behind the work. For the purpose that makes it all worthwhile.
And if you feel like you’ve lost some of that along the way? Good. This is your chance to get it back.
Gratitude isn’t only for what’s going well. It’s for what we’ve gone through. What we’ve learned. For the fact that we get to try again tomorrow, hopefully a little better than we were today.
Gratitude Is the Foundation
As you know, I use the phrase “Lifestyle Practice” very deliberately. It’s not about doing less just to relax. It’s about doing the right things – on purpose, with structure, with clarity – so you can create the life you want, not just the business you operate.
But none of that works if you’re resenting the process. If you’re tolerating your day-to-day instead of appreciating it. If you’re going through the motions instead of being rooted in what matters.
A Lifestyle Practice is one that gives to you, because you have given so much to it.
And the foundation to that is gratitude. For your team. For your patients. For your skills. For the business. For the journey. For yourself.
Lastly, I want to thank you… for showing up, for being part of this community, for the trust you’ve placed in me, and for the work we’re doing together. I don’t take that lightly.
I hope that, this weekend and beyond, you’ll carry this reflection with you. Not just as a seasonal sentiment, but as a daily practice.
Because gratitude isn’t something we check off. It’s something we live by. And when we do, it changes everything.
Happy Thanksgiving
