- 13.7 billion years ago, the Big Bang occurred and our universe was born.
- Roughly 9 billion years later, our solar system began to take shape with the sun at the center and the eight planets forming around it in elliptical orbits.
- On the third rock from the sun, the conditions necessary for life began to take root. Volcanoes spewed gases while comets and asteroids crashed on the surface depositing water and other elements.
- Some 3.8 billion years ago, the first carbon-based life form emerged from the primordial soup. From there, life got more and more complex.
- 65 million years ago, a comet six-miles wide hit the earth wiping out the dinosaurs thus enabling the tiny mammals hiding out of sight to inherit the earth.
- Around 6 million years ago, the first human-like creatures emerged in Africa and at first slowly, then suddenly, spread across the earth.
- 46 years ago, my parents met at Denver University. My father was from Elkhart, Indiana. My mother was from Davenport, Iowa. They had never met before.
- 42 years ago, I was born.
- The odds of me being here is almost incalculable. Luckily, someone did the math for me! 1 in 102,685,000 - yep, that's a 10 followed by 2,685,000 zeroes! But, after all of those zeroes. There is a one. That one is you. The improbable you.
- Everyday, we, the improbable us, wake up on this giant rock spinning 1,000 miles per hour on its axis while hurtling around the sun at a whooping 67,000 miles per hour without flying off so I can write these words of gratitude. Thank you gravity!
Every time I look up at the night sky, I am peering back in time. Every time I wake up, the earth has spun around on its axis one more time. 365 more of these revolutions and I have taken another lap around the sun.
I am not supposed to be here. Neither are you. Why does this matter? Because the odds are so tiny it’s laughable. Yes, life can be brutal. It is a lot of suffering. Of course, we live in a cold, dark universe. But for all we know, it sucks a whole lot worse in every conceivable direction from here.
So how can we make today a little better? Gratitude.
One of the most impactful things that I have done in the last year is practice gratitude. Every week, I send an unsolicited email to someone in my life that has had a positive impact on where I am or where I am going. I acknowledge that act of kindness, thank them, and move on with my day with a smile on my face.
In my journal, three to five times a week, I write down the things I am grateful for - my health, my wife, my three kids who aren’t supposed to be here, my mother and extended family, my career, my friends. You get the idea. When I find myself stuck or at a lack of things to say, I write down at least one thing I am grateful for.
Speaking of career, this is one area all of us should pause, reflect, and find that moment of gratitude. Be it for the opportunity to do meaningful work, the people you work with, or the sweet new coffee machine in the break room. After all, just a few hundred years ago, most of us were toiling under back-breaking work. Living nasty, short and brutish lives. So if you are at a loss for options, be grateful for human progress.
In that spirit, here is my moment of gratitude. I am grateful for the opportunity to teach and inspire at my alma mater. And I am most grateful to be a part of my latest startup, ProHabits. Everyday, I get to work with companies and individuals who want to weave positive habits into their daily lives so they can be their best selves at work, and at home.
Now it’s your turn. Express gratitude enough and, as the science shows, we begin to become happier versions of ourselves. According to Shawn Achor, “consistently grateful people are more energetic, emotionally intelligent, forgiving, and less likely to be depressed, anxious, or lonely...” In fact, if you practice this habit over a few weeks, you will become happier, more optimistic, and generally more pleasant to be around. What’s more - it’s infectious. People absorb your energy.
