The two words just kind of go together don’t they? “Happy” and “Thankful.”

Usually, when one of us is feeling happy, there is someone else or something that has brought us to that point of happiness, and we are thankful. And typically, when we are feeling grateful or thankful, that feeling is almost always accompanied by happiness.

“Happy” and “Thankful.”

It’s like thanks and giving, these two words seem like they go well together too, don’t they?

I mean if we are thankful and grateful for someone or something, there is probably a better than good chance that we may be looking to repay our gratitude or do something to pay it forward for someone else.

“Thanks” and “Giving,” they do go together because when we are on the receiving end of a gift, help in any way, or love, we are usually giving thanks aren’t we?

“Thanks” and “Giving.”

Now as we put it all together, we get Happy Thanksgiving. Seems so simple, and I know I am not writing anything new or revolutionary.

Just once again pointing out something that seems so obvious to most of us, we just have to remember that common sense is not always common practice.

Common courtesy is also not common practice. Just imagine if we all said “Thank you” a little more often. How many times a day do we have a chance to express gratitude and we completely miss it?

If we were to look at all of the interactions we have in almost any given day, we would probably remember times where we could have said “Thank you” a few more times at home.

There will be times where we could have said it to the stranger who blessed us after we sneezed, the cashier at the coffee shop who always makes sure there is enough room for cream in our coffee, the teacher who pushed us a little harder, the coach who kept our head in the game, the friend who’s shoulder we leaned on, and the person who switched seats with us on an airplane so we could sit with our spouse or child.

We don’t have to look so hard for the opportunities to be grateful and show appreciation, they are everywhere, they are all around us.

So, if those opportunities to showcase our attitude of gratitude are all around us, why do we miss them? Have we just become accustomed to taking things for granted? Are we too busy?

Moving too fast? Are we so focused on what’s on our phone that we miss who is standing right in front of us?

If it’s true, and even if we feel like maybe we are one of those people who are too busy, moving too fast, and too preoccupied, the good news is we can change all of it by changing our outlook and behavior when it comes to demonstrating our thankfulness and happiness, our thanks and our giving.

It has been said that gratitude is one of the strongest human emotions. So on this Thanksgiving holiday, who will we bless with the feeling of gratitude? Maybe we can think of one or two, maybe a few more than that, and maybe even many people.

But it the end, when we express our love and gratitude, and love and appreciation for those around us, we have to remember that we are gifting ourselves as well through our giving of Thanksgiving to others.

Happy and Thankful. Thanks and Giving. Happy Thanksgiving. I would like to personally thank everyone for all of your emails and communications, I appreciate you so much and as always, I would love to hear your Thanksgiving story at gotonorton@gmail.com.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone, I hope you all have a better than good week.

Michael Norton is a resident of Castle Rock, the president of the Zig Ziglar Corporate Training Solutions Team, a strategic consultant and a business and personal coach.