Gratitude As A Mindset

This post originally appeared in my weekly newsletter, BL&T (Borrowed, Learned, & Thought). Subscribe

Borrowed

"Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for."

From Epicurus [Quote]

Learned

As the weekend came to a close, I found myself thinking a lot about gratitude and how it can fuel us. Heading into the weekend, I was feeling pretty overwhelmed with everything on the agenda and all that needed to get done. But instead of letting the stress take over, I decided to embrace the busy weekend, enjoy the moments, and carve out time for the to-dos.

Here are some highlights:

Made dinner on Friday for my sister-in-law, Gina, who visited for the weekend.
Ran 16 miles on Saturday morning—my longest run yet! In the misty rain 😑
Met up with Gina’s friends for Saturday brunch.
Drafted this newsletter.
Blew leaves for over an hour (we’re surrounded by trees).
Installed a height extender on our mailbox (long story).
Finalized updates to the Barrel website to reflect our CPG positioning (check it out).
Had Sunday dinner with some new friends and their kids (also a play date for Mylo).
Built the weekly menu and made sure we had all the groceries.
Scheduled my week with Dana going away on a work trip.

By Sunday night, I was amazed—not just by how much we packed into a couple of days but by how good I felt throughout it all. The difference? I'm not sure what prompted it but this sense of gratitude kept passing through my mind.

When things feel overwhelming, it’s easy to focus on the negative and create the outcome we're trying to avoid. But this weekend, I stopped to appreciate the little things in each moment. Whether it was seeing Gina play with Mylo, having a meal with new friends, or even taking care of the house, I realized there was something to be grateful for everywhere, in the big and the small.

That mindset shift reminded me of something I used to do—gratitude journaling. In 2020, when I first started journaling, I would take a moment each day to express what I was thankful for. Over time, I drifted away from journaling altogether, but recently reintegrated the practice and as of today, I've added that gratitude piece back in—not just reflecting on the day, but taking a moment to recognize the wins.

I’m looking forward to seeing how this daily ritual sets the tone for my day and helps me stay grounded, no matter what’s ahead.