Grit, Gratitude, & Grace Newsletter

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1 Insight From Me

October 2024. Looking back at the year, people kept saying: "You handled this with such grace."

The word "grace" made me uncomfortable because it suggested some kind of spiritual or emotional advantage I had.

But I didn't have grace naturally. I practiced it.

What people saw as grace was actually discipline.

Early in the crisis, I made a framework for gratitude.

It wasn't "think positive thoughts" or "find the silver lining." Those are lies you tell yourself during hard times.

Gratitude was different. It was: Three specific things I could acknowledge every single day, even when everything was terrible.

The framework was simple:

One thing in my control. (What did I do today that moved things forward? Even tiny things. Made one good meal. Applied to one job. Had one honest conversation.)

One thing outside my control that I still received. (What showed up that I didn't earn? Florena had a day without nausea. A friend called. A bill was paid. Someone brought groceries. Sometimes it was just: the sun came up.)

One thing about who I'm becoming. (Who did I choose to be today? I was honest instead of pretending. I rested instead of pushing. I asked for help instead of drowning. Who am I becoming through this?)

Three things. Every single morning. Before anything else. Before job applications, before appointments, before panic.

This wasn't magical thinking. This was data.

By October, looking back through my notes from the year, I could see the pattern:

The days I did the gratitude practice—even perfunctory gratitude, even when I didn't "feel" grateful—I made better decisions.

Not because positive vibes fixed anything. But because the practice reset my focus.

Crisis has a way of narrowing your vision to only what's going wrong. Gratitude practice widened it back to what is.

What IS working. What AM I doing. Who AM I becoming.

By November, I had a whole year of data showing: gratitude isn't about feeling thankful. It's about practicing specificity.

Instead of "I'm grateful for my wife," it was "I'm grateful that Florena could eat solid food today and we could sit together at dinner."

Instead of "I'm grateful for my job," it was "I'm grateful that my manager trusted me with the project and I delivered it on time."

Specificity matters because it trains your brain to see actual things, not abstractions.

And by October, gratitude wasn't a crisis survival tool anymore. It was just how I noticed the world.

2 Quotes

"Gratitude is a practice. It's a discipline. And sometimes it's difficult." - Brené Brown

II.

"Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." - 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (NIV)

1 Challenge

The Gratitude Framework

This week, practice the three-part gratitude:

1. One thing in your control. (What did you do today that moved things forward? Tiny things count.)

2. One thing outside your control that you received. (What showed up you didn't earn? What was given?)

3. One thing about who you're becoming. (Who did you choose to be today? What character are you building?)

Three things. Every morning. For seven days.

Track how your decisions change. Track how your mood shifts.

Gratitude is a practice, not a feeling.

Remember: Feed your mind. Fuel your actions. Find your fire. 🔥

Want more frameworks like this? My book Mindset Metamorphosis includes the complete gratitude practice system with daily frameworks for building discipline through hard seasons.