If you only had 24 hours to live, what would you do?

I was pondering this the other day. It was interesting to watch my brain cross off almost everything as unimportant. When it came down to it, the ONLY thing I cared about is spending time with my family and telling them I love them. And possibly leaving my kids with some words of wisdom they could reference throughout their lives, either via video or letter or something.

That’s it.

What if this Thanksgiving was your last day on earth? You’re not allowed to tell anybody and you’re not allowed to change your existing plans. How would it be different?

You probably wouldn’t care if dinner didn’t turn out the way you wanted. Or if the kids were throwing food at the dinner table. Or if your mother-in-law criticized you all day. Or you brother showed up drunk and started his usual mayhem.

You would want to soak up every moment. People’s annoying behaviors might become quarks that bring a smile to your face. Rather than getting frustrated in traffic, you might take the opportunity to connect with your travel partners. You wouldn’t spend the whole day in food/weight drama in your head. Or any of the other drama we spend so much time lost in.

Here’s where it gets fun: you can have this kind of Thanksgiving right now, this week. The only difference is your thoughts. In our pretend scenario, no one else had to change for you to have a completely different experience at Thanksgiving. No on has to change this Thanksgiving either.

What if, this Thanksgiving, you just decided to love everyone EXACTLY as they are?

What if you decided that everything was perfect and that it was all happening for you?

What if you decided to be grateful for ALL of it? The burnt food, the traffic, the “annoying” behaviors, the arguments, the complaining, the drama… all of it.

You really can have the best Thanksgiving ever. It’s totally within your power. All you have to do, is change your thoughts.