Matt Corker

For Christmas in 2006, my sister gave me a great travel journal that I wrote in (almost) every time I left British Columbia. In the past 3 years, it has hit the streets of New York (twice), hiked mountains around South America, gallivanted through Europe, road-tripped to Colorado, biked around Hawaii, survived in Hong Kong, and even made it back to Ontario to say hello to same familiar faces.

Needless to say, it’s been around.

On the way back from New York City in 2007, after giving out Free Hugs on Wall Street with Melinda, we started a tradition of gratitude. Every year, we’d write down 50 things we were thankful for. I kept this tradition alive and did it once a year while I was traveling. My little orange book becoming the beneficiary of these lists. There were only 2 self-imposed guidelines:

1. Answer the question: What 50 things are you thankful are in your life? They could be neccesities, luxuries, philosophies, etc. However, the listed items shouldn’t be encompassing places (e.g. Europe, UBC) or names of people (Jason Mraz, Steph Corker Irwin). Try distilling those down to specific locations (e.g. my cottage) or things you do with people (e.g. riding bikes with Steph) to help clarify what you are truly thankful for in your life.
2. You can’t re-read previous lists before creating the new year’s list. You had to write what you were thankful for that year.

While in Hong Kong, I wrote on my last page of my travel journal. Volume 1 officially done! On the plane ride home, I re-read all my stories, adventures, and sometimes painful memories that were captured in her pages. I also got to re-read 3 years of lists of thanks. What was most interesting was that several items (19/50) remained unchanged since 2007 – same wording and all. They were:

• Maps
• My iPod
• Marshmallows roasted on a campfire
• Roadtrips
• Vests
• Fresh, clean air
• Ocean shorelines
• Leadership theory and literature
• Creative marketing/advertising campaigns
• Good manners
• Well-composed photographs
• Ice cream (Pralines’n'Cream and Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough) [same flavours too!]
• My Nana’s baking
• Chasing sunsets on a plane
• Laughing until you cry
• Warm hugs
• Intellectual conversations
• Snazzy ties
• Sincere smiles

If you, in this moment, stopped to think about what you were ACTUALLY thankful for – what would make your list? What if you did this every year at roughly the same time? What pattern would emerge? What would this tell you about yourself?

If nothing else – it would remind you you have LOTS to be thankful for! Happy writing.

Pick of the post: Charlie Winston – I Love Your Smile (official, totally appropro, music video)

Related posts:

1. Introducing my 100 before 100
2. Dear Long Distance Relationship,
3. Giving Thanks (x 50)