The Gratitude No One Talks About

Jake Luehrs
November 29, 2025

ONE QUESTION

Are you interested in being less productive in more things OR more productive in less things? Read that again.

ONE THING TO PONDER

Everything changes when you no longer feel the need to prove anything.

ONE PERSPECTIVE

We complain about the very challenges that help define us, when we could really be showing gratitude for growing through them.

For many of us, our current challenges are exactly what we NEED.

Not "what I want." Not "what feels good." Not "what's fair."

What we NEED.

It seems that we can almost guarantee that the challenges from our pasts have significant upside that we haven’t acknowledged any gratitude towards.

The terrible job you got fired from and now happen to be in a job/career you love.

The health scare you had that now has changed your perspective on life.

The relationship that ended has given you new people in your life you wouldn’t have had otherwise.

The very thing that would make our story worth telling is the thing we're currently avoiding.

We cannot be inspired AND comfortable. Pick one.

Here is what we’ve forgotten:

The obstacle IS the path. Not a detour from it. Not a delay. Not punishment for doing something wrong.

The challenges we’re facing right now are literally preparing us for what we said we wanted.

We Complain and It’s Smothering Our Perspective

Complaining feels productive. It feels like we're doing something.

It gets us sympathy, attention, and validation.

However, it converts our ability to improve things into victimhood.

Society has made complaining socially acceptable.

We bond over it.

We compete over who has it worse.

Our challenges aren't random. They are our curriculum.

And the moment we start treating them like education instead of punishment, everything has the potential to shift.

Show Gratitude for What Breaks Us

This Thanksgiving, here's a suggestion:

Be grateful for the thing you're struggling with most.

Not because it feels good. Not because it's easy. Not because it's what you wanted.

But because it's the very thing that's forging you into someone capable of what comes next.

It seems we have have two choices around challenges:

Option 1: Complain about it. Resent it. Ask "why me?" Wait for it to pass. Survive it. Learn nothing.

Option 2: Face it. Question what it's teaching. Ask "what's this preparing me for?”

Which one are you choosing?

Gratitude for our struggles isn't a feeling—it's a decision.

This Thanksgiving, be grateful for the hard stuff.

See you on the other side of the struggle.

You’re going to have one hell of a story to tell.

Onward and upward!

PS - Share this with anyone you can think of that has done great things but may be struggling!

LEAD & LEARN : WEEKLY PICK

PODCAST

The Productivity Myth with Oliver Burkeman

The Rich Roll Podcast

This is a fascinating listen. The perspective on productivity and how the world has evolved to create more efficiencies, only to find more things to be productive and efficient at. It’s a mind bender, and one that can help bring clarity on focusing on the process and actually living in the process. I highly recommend!