23 Nov What Are YOU Bringing to Thanksgiving Dinner (And I’m not talking about a side dish)
Hey everybody. Good morning. It’s Barb with High5 Leadership. I’ve had something on my mind the last couple of days so I thought I would pop on this morning and talk about it. That is what are you bringing to Thanksgiving dinner? I’m not talking about the food. Tomorrow marks my 52nd Thanksgiving dinner and some of them have been quite memorable. Some of them not so much. That’s probably your truth as well. I’m super grateful that I get to spend tomorrow with people that I love and have fun hanging out with. I’m bringing the pies and I’m bringing some “stick together corn” for my brother Carl at his request. That’s not what’s going to make Thanksgiving a success. Some of the foodies won’t agree with me, however, the question is what are you really bringing to the Thanksgiving dinner? How are you going to show up tomorrow? I know a lot of people that have had some drama in their families over the years and a lot of times when they get back into that environment they then go right back. They get triggered by some of those old stories and they go right back into the old patterns and behaviors that really doesn’t benefit them.
Think about what Thanksgiving is about. It’s about counting our blessings and truly just to enjoy being with each other and giving thanks. Gratitude is a phenomenal thing. I’m a big believer in it because nothing raises your vibe quicker than truly choosing to be grateful for what you have. We can have those stories about something that we’re lacking but as soon as we’re thinking about something that we have it shifts our energy and now creates more abundance and creates more willingness for us to receive those things that we really want in our life. How are you going to show up tomorrow? Are you going to show up open and with joy and truly choosing those things that you want for yourself and then as you choose it for yourself you’re giving it away to others. Or will you fall back into some of those old patterns and stories? When we bring hurts and pains, betrayals from the past into this present moment the person that we’re hurting the most is ourselves.
That’s what I really want you to get. It’s easy when you get back into that environment to get triggered by that story. Your sister, five years ago at Thanksgiving dinner made some comment when you were reaching for seconds about maybe you didn’t needs that and you were humiliated. You felt humiliated by that. Everybody else laughed. She likely forgot about it because who knows why she did that in that moment. Now it comes back to you. You’re triggered by this Thanksgiving and that old story comes back up and now you’re sitting there plotting your revenge. What I want you to get is that it’s just a story and as long as you’re letting that story be your reality you’re now robbing yourself of the joy that you could be having on that day.
Recognize. I want you to really become aware of what you are thinking. The more that you think about your thinking, the more that you will benefit. It’s the awareness that those thoughts that we’re having are just stories and that we don’t need to buy into that story anymore. We don’t need to buy into whatever it is that hurt us in the past, we don’t need to bring that into this present moment. When you do that, recognize the only person that you’re hurting is you. Even if you then are negative towards somebody else because you want to get them back you’re still hurting yourself. You’re requiring yourself to be negative to yourself. When you walk into your thanksgiving dinner tomorrow, be very purposeful. Be very intentional about what you’re bringing. Bring your openness, bring your love, bring your job. If somebody else is telling an old story, that old story doesn’t need to be your story. Bring something bigger. The biggest energy is the one that will fill the room. Be the big, positive energy. If somebody wants to bring in the old stuff, don’t play that game. You have 100% control over how you show up tomorrow.
As you’re enjoying your turkey and your mashed potatoes and your gravy and all of that stuff, choose how you’re going to show up. Allow the people in your life to just be who they be and you get to choose your reaction to them, your response and choose joy. Tomorrow enjoy all the food, but more importantly enjoy the opportunity to be with each other, to truly show up and recognize any of those old stories and tell them, “You know what? You’re not benefiting me. I’m writing a new story in this moment.” Of course, choose joy.