6 Things You Probably Forget To Be Thankful For…

Here in the U.S., tomorrow is Thanksgiving Day. This is a day where we sit around, eat a lot of food, then eat more food, then pass out in a food coma, then wake up and eat more food.

Oh yeah, and we’re also supposed to give thanks for all the blessing we have in life. This is a wonderful thing to do, not just once a year, but all the time, regardless of what country you live in.

There are some big important things we should be thankful for, and this time of year most people focus on those. You know the things: your family, friends, and loved ones. Your health, and the health of those you care about. The money you have, the opportunities available to you, the fact that you have food and a place to live.

Those are all wonderful and you should be thankful for them. However, in true Motivational Smart Ass style, I would like to give you six more things you should be thankful for. Things that you may never have considered being thankful for before. But you should…

1) The Brilliant Bastards Who Didn’t Care What Others Thought About Them

Face it – most of the cool stuff you enjoy today and take for granted started out as someone’s crazy dream. A dream so crazy that when they acted on it, they were ridiculed and discouraged. But did that stop them? Nope. They just kept going, and going, and going, and eventually achieved breakthroughs and success that transformed the world.

We look back and take their achievements for granted, but we shouldn’t. It’s not always easy to persist in the face of mockery and rejection. So don’t just be thankful for the things you have, be thankful that there are people in the world, now and in the past, who had the mentality to keep going and create those things.

• In addition to being thankful for being able to spend time with your family, be thankful that the Wright Brothers kept going and going, which is why you can get on a plane to visit them.
• In addition to being thankful for having light and heat on a cold night, be thankful that Edison never gave up after many, many failed attempts.
• In addition to being thankful for being able to read the Motivational Smart Ass blog, be thankful that Al Gore invented the internet (actually, it was a guy named Vinton Cerf, and my buddy Fred just recorded a video interview with him on “the future of internet information marketing”)

So the next time you see somebody walking down the street wearing, saying, or doing something so ridiculous you think to yourself, “what the heck are they thinking?!?” don’t be a hater. Instead, be grateful to them. Because those brilliant bastards who just don’t care are a big part of the reason why you are able to enjoy so many of the things you do.

2) That D#$% or B#$% Who Broke Your Heart

If you’re like most people, someone at some point broke the heck out of your heat. And, if you’re like most people, you harbor some resentment or ill will towards them. Or, in the best case, you have reached a neutral place with your opinion of them.

I say, take it one step further and be grateful for them, and what they did!

You don’t have to like them, forgive them, get back in touch with them, or contact them to make amends. Just be grateful you went through it in the past, it’s over now, and it taught you some valuable things:

1. You learned what you shouldn’t look for in a relationship (so you avoided that in the future right?)
2. You learned how much having your heart broken sucks so you were careful with others (you were careful with others’ hearts, right?)
3. You learned how bad things can get, so you truly appreciate the relationship (or even the single life) you have now (you do appreciate what you have right now, right?)

Hmm, maybe you didn’t learn anything at all.. Ah hell, be grateful anyway. It’s a much better way to go through life than being bitter.

3) The People You Don’t Notice.

It’s easy to be thankful and grateful to the people who go out of their way to help you:

• The person who lends you a few bucks when you need it
• The driver who lets you merge in front of them when you are in the wrong lane
• The person who offers you their seat on a crowded bus or train.
• And so on and so on

Those are wonderfully nice people, but I’d like to suggest you take a moment to be thankful for all the people you don’t notice at all.

You know who I am talking about:

1. The neighbor who doesn’t throw loud parties.
2. The person sitting next to you on the plane who doesn’t talk your ear off.
3. The 99% of drivers on the road who drive like normal, rational people
4. And so on and so on

There are a lot of people who simply live their lives in their own polite, simple way and don’t intrude on your happiness at all. I love those people.

This is the standard bell curve type distribution. 10% of people will intrude on your life in a way that annoys the hell out of you. 10% will come into your life in a way that makes your life better.

Take a moment now to be grateful for that remaining 80% that lets you go on and live your own life in peace.

4) John Plumb

John Plumb invented plumbing. It was named after him. Here’s a picture:

Ok, I guess that’s a lie. That’s not John Plumb, and he didn’t invent plumbing. Plumbing was probably invented by a bunch of people who looked like this:

I don’t really know who invented plumbing. The Romans had something to do with it. Bob Villa may also have been involved.

Regardless of who invented it, you should take a moment now to be grateful for plumbing.

If you aren’t a plumber and don’t work for the water company (and aren’t a big enough nerd to learn all about it for your own enjoyment), you probably have no idea how plumbing works. You turn the faucet and boom, out comes water. But there’s a lot more too it. I won’t explain it to you because I don’t know how it works either. I’m just really happy it does.

As a kid, I used to fantasize about living in medieval fantasy worlds I read about in the Lord of the Rings, Dragonlance, and Shannara books (I am a big enough nerd to have done that, but not a big enough nerd to have researched exactly how plumbing works). Then I realized that they had no plumbing. Nada. Zero. Zilch.

My fantasy world experience would be great until about two hours after I had my first meal of “iron rations” or “Otik’s Fried Potatoes”) At which point I would desperately try to find a toilet…

(note: if you got those food references, then you are as big a nerd as me. If not, go read some good epic fantasy novels).

If you want to know what life without plumbing would be like, read this interesting, funny, and totally disgusting article: Medieval Slimes
(Note: it’s pretty disgusting. Don’t blame me if you click through and it grosses you out)

5) The Music of Rush

This is my blog, so what I say goes. You should appreciate the music of Rush, even if you have never heard a Rush song. And if you haven’t, go listen to some now.

To learn more about Rush’s awesomeness check out this. And this. And of course, this.

Then watch my YouTube playlist, “Intro to Rush,” that I made just for you:

Rush rules. Be grateful they exist.

6) The Library

I don’t understand why more people don’t use the public library. think about it:

A FREE (ok, not entirely free since our taxes pay for it, but that’s a sunk cost after which you don’t pay again!) storehouse of information and entertainment.

• Got a question on a topic? There’s a book about it, and the library probably has it.
• Want to learn a new skill? There’s a book about it, and the library probably has it.
• Need some entertainment? The library is filled with fiction novels, and most have DVD/Video collections.
• Want to buy a book? The library is filled with books, and may very well have the one you want to be. For you to read. For Free.
• Want to hear an interesting speaker? Your library probably brings in authors and speakers. Quite often you can see them For. Free.

You know what I like to do sometimes? Walk down a random aisle in the library (fiction or non-fiction) and just grab a book off the shelf and peruse the contents. 90% of the time I put the book back. 10% of the time I am intrigued enough to check it out. For Free. I get to try out a book I never heard of or learn something about a topic I never considered before. For Free.

My God, in a world dominated by 140 character tweets, thousands of text messages, 4 minute YouTube videos, and mindless reality TV junk (all of which I partake in, by the way) can we please take a moment and be grateful for the fact that the government is allocating some funding to create storehouses of in-depth information that anyone can walk into and read or take?? For – say it with me now “FREE”

Am I making myself clear here? Be grateful for these institutions of collected knowledge. Even if you don’t have a library card and haven’t been to one in years, just take an hour and go to your local library and peruse the shelves and marvel at the fact that your city, town, community, etc. makes these resources available to you.

For.

Absolutely.

Free.

To hell with it, I’m putting my money where my mouth is. Anybody in the relatively local Philly area that wants me to do an event for their local library (as a fundraiser or as a community service type event) let me know. I’m open to talking about it…

A Final Word…

While this may have been a slightly tongue in cheek message of things to be thankful for (except Rush. We don’t joke about the greatness of Rush), the lesson is clear:

We have so much to be thankful for.

Not just the big stuff, but everything.

Don’t forget about them. And don’t squander them. Use this holiday season to feel and express your thanks for everything you can.

For me, I’d also like to take a moment to thank you, my blog reader. Without you, I would be wasting my time. So thanks, you make this all worth my while.

Happy Thanksgiving!

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