10 Pesonal Growth Lessons From Thanksgiving
We already know Thanksgiving is a time to be thankful, but do we ever take time to think about the other personal growth lessons we can learn from the Holiday? I took some time to reflect on 10 lessons that can help us get the most from the turkey tradition and then some.
1. Gratitude is Good For You!
For some people, Thanksgiving is the only day you get to hear them say they are thankful for something 
. However, showing gratitude is actually beneficial for a number of reasons.
To illustrate, UC Davis conducted a fascinating study. They took a bunch of college kids and broke them into 3 groups. One group was told to go about their day and record the daily events, another was asked to record the hassles, and the last group to record their gratitude. Previous to the experiment, the students’ kept ordinary journals to their liking so that comparisons could be made at the end of 10 weeks.
What did they find? Happiness went up 25% in the gratitude group. Not only that, they found that the gratitude group slept better, exercised more, were more alert and made greater progress towards goals.
2. Who’s Sitting Around Your Table?
Ever notice all the types of people who are sitting around your table for Thanksgiving? You probably have your brothers, sisters, parents, uncles, cousins, nieces, nephews, grand kids, grand parents, friends, the list can go on and on.
It doesn’t really matter how you know them, but these are probably the closest and most important people in your life. If anything were to go wrong, these would be the first people you’d call.
Thinking about that made me realize how much I take these relationships for granted. Thanksgiving comes once a year. Make the time together a meaningful and memorable experience.
3. Lend a Helping Hand!
Ever go to a Thanksgiving dinner and notice a kitchen with one person doing all the work? Most likely, that ‘s not the case.
Something about Thanksgiving pushes us to look like we are contributing something. The people who are lying around, doing nothing stick out like sore thumbs.
Why not take that attitude beyond just during the holiday and look for opportunities to serve. With the economy issues and the holidays coming to full speed there will be ample need and opportunity to lend a helping hand.
4. What Do You Bring to the Table?
Thanksgiving doesn’t tend to be a one man show. Every family walking in the door typically has some plate, pie, side, or dish to contribute to the feast. Are they all masterpieces? No, but does it really matter?
We all have exceptional talents that we figuratively “bring to the table” in our daily lives. We can all learn to be thankful for those talents and to focus on how we can make sure they are put to use.
Today is an age of talent. The ability to share, grow, and even profit from talent is greater than ever before. Justin Bieber shared his talents on You Tube, now he’s worth millions. Darren Rowse started a blog about photography, a talent he was passionate about, now he has one of the most successful blogs on the internet.
This Thanksgiving, think about what talents you can nurture.
5. Are You a Good Neighbor?
We all remember the story of the first Thanksgiving we hear in second grade. Pilgrims travel from Europe to settle the colonies. They are newcomers to the land and are likely to starve, when the Indians come and teach them how to harvest the crops of the new world. They have a great celebration and everyone is happy.
Regardless of how much fiction is in the story, there are important themes and lessons to learn.
How many of us even bother to spend five minutes get to know the neighbor who moves in next door? We recently had a neighbor move in and I’ve been to introverted to stop by and introduce myself. Five minutes now could save you a fortune down the road in protecting yourself from thieves or other intrusions. Even if it is just to build connections, your neighbors may be interested in being your clients or customers, if only they had known what you do.
6. Try Something New!
Every year without fail, some dish shows up for Thanksgiving that I’ve never had anything like before. When I was younger, you couldn’t pay me to try some of the new food choices. I look back and wonder what I probably missed. Since that time I have been introduced and grown to love such things as sweet potatoes, pecan pie, and all kinds of casserole.
We can apply the same things in our regular lives. Think of new experiences, sights, and tastes you can enjoy as a family or individual. If it doesn’t turn out to be the greatest thing you’ve done, at least you’ll know without any regrets.
7. What Turning Point Are You On?
Thanksgiving is one of the biggest turning points of the year. For many it marks when you are officially allowed to listen to Christmas music. It’s the start of the busiest shopping day of the year. It’s the moment millions of children start counting the days till Christmas.
It’s almost a natural response to go through the Thanksgiving turning point and not even realize what we are doing, but how often do we think about the turning points in our own lives.
Is there a family member you’ve been at odds with for some time? What better time to make peace? Is there a project you’ve put off? Start now. Have you lost work life balance from being so busy? Begin adjusting your time today.
8. Put Your Best Foot Forward!
Something about gathering for the big turkey dinner causes us to all put our best foot forward. Almost every movie that depicts the holiday starts out with a seemingly functional family enjoying their meal, when someone or something triggers an event to change all that. Then all the masks come off and the real family is now present with all their quirks, problems, and issues.
Putting our best foot forward doesn’t have to be a tradition only on Thanksgiving and first dates. It might surprise you how little effort you really have to make to have your best foot forward most of the time.
9. What Places Will You Explore?
The foundation of Thanksgiving comes from exploration. Even if our circumstances don’t require sailing across an ocean to practice our religion, we still can think about the opportunities to explore.
If you look closely enough, there are thousands of great deals that come along around this time of year. I recommend signing up for places like Groupon where they can send you daily deals for experiences that may have been too expensive to enjoy in the past.
Another great source for exploration are your local newspapers. I know that newspapers are going the way of the dodo, but every time I stop to look at one I find out about great events that I would never have found otherwise.
10. Do You Have Small Pox?
It’s no shocker that the happy times depicted in the “First Thanksgiving” paintings neglect the reality that came from those events. The widespread epidemic of small pox.
Although we don’t have to worry much about giving small pox to those around us; negativity, selfishness, and anger are just as, if not more, contagious. If you’ve noticed yourself being a scrooge or under extra stress lately, use this opportunity to put in some extra effort to make the time around you enjoyable and rewarding.
How About You?
What personal growth lessons can you share from Thanksgiving? Share in the comments below.
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I enjoyed the article. The holidays always seem to be very polarizing. People either come together with others or relive unpleasant memories and sulk. Certainly, it is an opportunity to branch out into many areas of personal growth.
Thanks Chris,
Can't agree more about polarizing holidays and personal growth opportunity, when it comes to Thanksgiving. I hope you have a great Thanksgiving this year. Let me know if you hear any interesting stories afterwords.
Hi Bryce,
Suerae Stein mentioned your blog in a recent post, so of course I had to come by! These are great suggestions for reflections on Thanksgiving. I have always loved Thanksgiving because it gives me the opportunity to catch up with family and well…eat! But I agree it is also a time of reflection. Happy Thanksgiving to you!
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