Here’s How To Think And Act Differently This Thanksgiving Day

By  Jack J. Kelly 

Thanksgiving has become a four-day weekend of debauchery. We overeat, drink too much, fight with our family over politics, mindlessly shop for holiday deals and watch too much football. Right now, someone is planning their weekend around binge watching the Netflix series The Haunting of Hill House that he’s been jonesing to see. How many others will stay up late at night into the early morning viewing all the episodes until the judgy pop up comes up asking if you are still watching? When you get that warning, after 10 hours of being glued to the television, even the computer algorithm thinks you should shut it off and start thinking about your life choices.

We take this time to indulge in smug self-righteousness and demand that everyone at the dinner table offer something to be thankful for. After the usual thanks for our health, we then turn our attention to all the stuff we have accumulated. We are secretly thankful that we are not in as bad shape as Kevin, the relative who still lives in his old room, with the same posters hanging on the wall that he had when he was 14 years old. Now at age 32, he is about 60 lbs overweight, playing the Red Dead Redemption 2 video game and starting his third graduate school program, loading his parents with even more tuition debt. No worries; he repays them by telling his parents how guilty they should be for killing off all the Native Americans (even though their ancestors lived in Italy until two generations ago). Also, we wonder how he could be so morbidly obese being a vegan, as he stuffs down his tofurky dinner.

If you sit back and really think about it, we are a nation of overgrown kids. If we actually used our intelligence and deeply thought about this holiday, it would be completely different.

For instance, instead of the trite “I’m thankful for my family, friends and good health,” start to think in bigger—broader terms—and change your mindset and parameters. Instead of uttering clichés to which everyone nods their heads in agreement, take out a pad of paper and write down real specific things that you are thankful for (since I specialize in writing about career advice, I will be referring to work-related matters). Maybe you are thankful that you have a high IQ and are especially good in math and science. Perhaps, you are blessed with charm, charisma, good looks and a highly evolved emotional intelligence. The lists and combinations could be endless. Once you focus in on your specific God-given gifts, as well as learned talents, education and abilities you acquired over the years through hard work and practice, think of how you could be effectively utilizing these attributes to better your career and work life.

Instead of just being thankful, be proactive and put these abilities into action. Get off the couch, shut off the football game and do something constructive. Create an action plan for success. Set a goal for yourself and then work like hell to crush that goal. Don’t give me that, “I’ll do it after the holidays and the New Year because I’m soooo busy” excuse. No, you won’t do it. You’ll be back at the Thanksgiving Day table next year, stuffing your fat face, complaining about the same old things and saying “but this time it will be different.” You are just lying to yourself. Don’t wait. Do it now or you will never do it at all.

The holiday should transform from a sedentary, lazy, selfish food fest, followed by bloated laziness, wasting four days of your too-short life. Of course, it is four days because now everyone takes the Friday off from work. Why? Because it is easy to do it when everyone else is doing it. How about you actually work on that Friday? Maybe, just to start, even if you are too bloated and hungover to go into the office, at least start working on your self-improvement at home.

The holiday should be a call for action. Think of where you are in your career. Are you happy? Have you fallen behind? Are you where you want to be in life? Where would you like to be now, five years from now, 10 years from now? If you don’t know, nothing will change. Critically think of where you are going. You don’t get into a car and drive aimlessly. You have a GPS, directions and a set time table. Set your career direction. Write it down and hold yourself accountable.

Spruce up your résumé, improve your LinkedIn profile and call some recruiters to schedule meetings. Join some organizations to network, reconnect with former colleagues and enhance existing connections to help you seek out a new job or advance within your current job. Consider going back to school at night for an additional degree or obtain some accreditations in your field.

Take care of yourself too. Re-button your jeans and tighten your belt back, after you loosened it due to all the food you ate. Push away from the table, get out of the house and go to the gym. It will be empty, maybe not even open, since everyone is in a food-induced zombie trance. Use the holiday sales to buy a new interview wardrobe. Clean up your current closet with clothes that are for the job you want, not the job you have. Even though everyone else in the office may look like a slob with their so-called business casual outfit, you should look sharp and stand out.

Find ways to use your strengths, skills and attributes to advance your career and move your life forward. What good is being thankful, if you don’t use these gifts to improve your life and the lives of everyone else around you?