How to find gratitude at the intersection of global and personal change

Challenge Factory’s Blog

How to find gratitude at the intersection of global and personal change

Challenge Factory’s Blog

By Lisa Taylor

Recently, a leader I admire deeply gave a talk where she challenged the audience to consider how the last few years have changed them. Her challenge wasn’t focused on whether the change was good or bad—simply to notice if changes have occurred.

We often focus on what is happening around us without stopping to think about how it has led us to change. From the pandemic, political polarization, the decline of mainstream media, national elections, and global conflicts, world news can be understood as a series of events happening to us in ways we can’t control and are not responsible for.

But those events have a personal impact. Their cumulative effect changes how we understand the world and what we thought would always be true. They change us.

Canadians are moving into their Thanksgiving weekend. Since it is never a bad time to focus on gratitude, we encourage our entire community of leaders, Canadian or not, to use this weekend to consider what has personally changed for you over the course of seemingly endless “unprecedented” circumstances.

  • Are you more or less likely to take on risks?
  • Does your team or workplace seem to be a place with more or less trust?
  • How has your sense of confidence changed?
  • Has the time horizon of your future-focused plans gotten longer or shorter?
  • Do you rely on different sources of information and insight?
  • Which of these changes have made your work, relationships, and life better, easier, or more enjoyable?
  • What, if any, positive habits and rituals have you adopted, perhaps without even noticing they are now part of who you are?

Instead of only focusing on the facts and details of external events (e.g., what happened, when, who did what, what mistakes were made, etc.), explore how these past strange and turbulent years have changed you. You might even want to make a list—and then decide which of these changes are actually for the better. There is goodness interspersed within the challenges. The trick is to notice it.

When we know who we are, we have the capacity to shape a better future. We can also grow and develop in intentional ways that move us forward. The last few years might have left you with a different sense of the world, as well as new needs and wants. Thanksgiving is a good time to reflect on what’s providing you with an abundance of energy, connectivity, and possibility, and what’s limiting you from feeling happy or secure.

The world around us is changing, and we’re changing at the same time. Finding where those changes intersect, whether they lead to additive or intentional growth, is an activity worthy of Thanksgiving.


Figure 1. Types of growth at the intersections of positive personal change and changes in the world.

Do you need help navigating how leadership is changing and what it means to be a strong leader today? Explore our talent and leadership advisory services.