I wanted to share with you another goal of mine for 2023 and that's to complete 52 hikes over the next 52 weeks - The 52 Hike Challenge.

Welcome back to the Daily Gratitude Minute. My name is Scott Colby from Say It With Gratitude. Yesterday I just got back, uh, to Tennessee from Virginia where I spent a few days visiting my family for Christmas. Had a great time. Like I mentioned, I love the week between Christmas and New Year's to, to plan, reflect, really get my head focused around what I want to accomplish.

Personally and professionally now every year, one of the goals I seem to set is a reading goal. don't normally hit it. So I'm trying to be a little bit more realistic this year. I know in the past I've probably set goals like, Hey, I'm gonna read 30 books a year. I'm actually a pretty slow reader, and I get distracted.

I might be in the middle of a book, and then I will see another book that I want to buy, and I'll purchase that book. And it's kind of a vicious cycle of purchasing books before I finish the current books that I'm reading. . So this year I'm gonna do something a little bit different. I'm gonna make my goal more manageable.

I think I'm, I'm shooting for 12 books for the year, so I want to read 12 books. So that's just one a month. The second thing I'm gonna do that I think will help me is I'm planning ahead, uh, each what book I want to actually read, uh, for the year. So, I am going to pre pick the books that I want to read for the year.

Um, and that way hopefully I will stick to it and not buy books during the year without finishing other ones. So I'm gonna give myself a little bit of flexibility. So here's what I'm gonna do. Before January 1st, I'm gonna pick 10 out of the 12 books that I'm going to. During the year, I am probably going to make these 10 books that I already own, cuz I have way more than that that I haven't read.

And then I'm gonna allow myself two wild card books. So two books. That I can choose during the year that I want to make part of my 12th. So I'm gonna pick 10 ahead of time, two wild card books that I can choose, uh, during the year because you know, there's gonna be books that I come across during the year that I want to go out and purchase.

Spur the moment, and I'm gonna give myself some leeway to do that twice this year. Now I've got my first book already picked out. I gotta pick out the others, um, uh, by January 1st. But the first book I'm reading for January is called Thirst by Scott Harrison. He is the founder of Charity Water. I love inspirational books like that.

Founders of nonprofits, they do amazing things and I can't wait to dig in and, and. Just see his process of starting a charity. He actually, uh, was a, a alcoholic and drug user, and he really turned his life around when he started this nonprofit. So Thirst by Scott Harrison is my first book. So, are you a reader?

Do you set reading goals or what book are you currently reading? Send me a DM on instant, uh, on, um, Instagram. My username is Scott Colby, so you can find me there. Would welcome a little chat on what books you're reading. I'm Scott Colby with Say It With Gratitude, and this has been The Daily Gratitude Minute.

Cheers.

Welcome back to the Daily Gratitude Minute. My name is Scott Colby. From Say It With Gratitude, it is Monday. There is one week left in the year. I love this time of year, you know, between Christmas and the new year. There's that week where we can take time to reflect, maybe celebrate what we've accomplished in.

Previous year that we're just wrapping up and we can look forward to see where we wanna take our lives, maybe our businesses, maybe our relationships. Where, where do we want to be, you know, one year from now? And what do we wanna work on? We have the power to create the type of life that we want. I think I love this time of year because it allows me to pause, take a breath, reflect, and there's this sense of hope and there's this feeling of possibility.

Like anything is possible next year, and it's up to me to make it happen now. I love that feeling. What I don't like is that feeling seems to go away after the first of the year. I would love to capture and hold onto this feeling. all year long. How do we do that? I'm not exactly sure. Each week there's a possibility for have making it an amazing week.

There's hope. Each day we wake up with a blank slate. There's possibility there and there's hope, but it doesn't quite have that same feeling that I have this week, the week before Christmas and New Year's. If you have any suggestions on what you've done in the past to capture that feeling of possibility and hope all year long, let me know.

I'd love to hear what your thoughts are, but I would just encourage you take this time to really take a deep. You deserve some relaxation. You deserve to celebrate what you've accomplished, and you deserve to know that you have the power to take your life in whatever direction you want in the upcoming year.

If you want to chat with me, tell me any ideas you have, you can email me, Scott Scott colby.com. Prefer social media, find me on Instagram at Scott Colby. Feel free to send me a direct message there. I'm Scott Colby with Say It With Gratitude, and this has been your daily gratitude minute. Cheers.

Welcome back to the Daily Gratitude Minute. My name is Scott Colby. From Say It With Gratitude. It is Christmas Day, so I wanted to wish you all a very merry Christmas. Now I know not all of you celebrate Christmas, so if you don't, happy Sunday to you. Just got a really simple message for you today, no matter where you are in the world or who you are with today.

And that's to be kind and you know it's real easy to do, right? They say kindness is free, so you can spread it as much as you want, but oftentimes we forget about it, and so hopefully during this holiday season, in particular today for celebrating Christmas with your family, possibly friends, maybe people we haven't seen in a while.

Maybe you're by yourself. Think about how you can have more kindness in your life and spread it to other people. You know, we could probably all use more kindness in our life, both giving it and receiving it, but give it first. Without expectation of receiving kindness and back spread it around as much as possible.

We could all do our part to make the world a little bit of a better place, a little bit of a kinder place with less, less fighting, less complaining. So think about how you can spread kindness this holiday season as we move into 2023. That's my message today. Have a healthy, happy, and very merry Christmas.

We're just a happy Sunday. I'm Scott Colby with Say It With Gratitude, and this has been the Daily Gratitude Minute. Cheers.

Welcome back to the Daily Gratitude Minute. My name is Scott Colby from Say It With Gratitude. Today is Christmas Eve. I love this holiday season. I'm at my parents' house in Virginia celebrating with family, and I want to give you a tool that may help, uh, you have a better Christmas, even Christmas Day.

It's The Grateful Deck. The Grateful Deck, which is 120. Question. To remind you the good in your life and the spark meaningful conversations. Now, of course, you can't purchase it and get it in time for Christmas, but what you can do is download the digital version of the Grateful Deck that's [email protected].

Gratitude toolkit.com, you're gonna be able to download all 120 questions. You can even cut 'em up into cards, you know, print 'em out, cut 'em up. And I thought this may be cool for you to get around with your family, gather around the fireplace or the Christmas tree. Either tonight on Christmas Eve or tomorrow during your Christmas Day dinner, and just go around and, and ask each other a few of the questions from the Grateful Deck.

I promise you, you're going to have some amazing conversations. It'll bring you closer together. You're gonna feel the love and you're gonna remember the good in your life. So, Again, the Grateful Deck. You can download the digital version [email protected]. I'm Scott Colby with Say It With Gratitude, and this has been the Daily Gratitude Minute.

Cheers.

Welcome back to the Daily Gratitude Minute. My name is Scott Colby. From Say It With Gratitude, it is just a few days before Christmas. I know a lot of times this time of year we're getting together with family and sometimes we don't get along with family members. Maybe we haven't spoken to them, uh, in a little while, and it may be difficult to kind of face them in person.

And sometimes you have to be the one. Kind of starts the conversation. So what I would just kind of encourage you to think about is that you never know when. is when will be the last time you have the opportunity to speak to that person. Um, and I know a lot of times looking back, we have regrets about things.

Maybe we didn't get to say something that we would like to say to the person or tell them how much we love them. So again, I know it's difficult to sometimes resolve conflicts and start that conversation. Oftentimes we want them. Start the conversation. Uh, and so this has been one of the most difficult things for me too.

So how do you, how do you start the conversation with somebody when you think you're in the right and they're in the wrong? And that's our ego talking. Um, so I'm still working on this personally. I know it's not easy, but I would just encourage you to think like, Hey, this may be the last time. You get to speak to that person.

You never know. Um, if you're not ready to face them and have a conversation. Uh, and this doesn't have to be during the holiday season. I'm just bringing that up because we are close to Christmas, but this can happen anytime of the year. I would encourage you to try this step instead, if this resonates with you more, uh, write down three things that you like about the person.

So even if you're having a conflict, even if you've had arguments and you don't see eye to. , there are some things that you love and appreciate about the other person, especially if they're family members. So write down three three's just kind of arbitrary. Maybe there's more, maybe there's less. But think about what you love, what you appreciate about that person.

Write that down. And remember the good in the other person that could help you kinda maybe get the ball rolling to resolve a conflict that you and the other person has had. So anyway, this a little bit deeper of a daily gratitude minute, but I know during holiday season it's challenging for a lot of us.

I just wanted to bring this topic up. Hope this helps you. If you have any questions, you can always email me, Scott Scott Colby dot. I'm Scott Colby with the Daily Gratitude Minute, and I hope you have an amazing day.

Welcome back to the Daily Gratitude Minute. My name is Scott Colby from Say It With Gratitude. My tip for you today and my encouragement is to show appreciation to local businesses. You know, running a small business is not easy, especially in this day and age. There's lots of businesses popping up both online and brick and mortar, but I want you to consider showing some appreciation for a local business that you do.

Business with, you know, so one that comes to my mind is my veterinarian. I take my cat Mia in to see her, uh, any ti anywhere between once a month and once every three months. So here are a few ways you can show appreciation to your local business. So perfect examples. Just writing a handwritten thank you note.

That's an easy one to do, but not. Businesses receive notes from their patients or their clients or their customers. I know I recently wrote my vet a handwritten note. She thanked me for it the next time I went in there, uh, for an appointment for my cat. So they really appreciate it if they're acknowledged, if a local business is acknowledged for their hard work that makes their day.

Another thing that you could do is just post about them on social media and tag them. So I'll often take a picture with my cat being treated by the vet and I'll post it on Facebook and I'll give them a lot of love that shows that you care about them as well, and it gives that business some exposure.

And then finally, another thing that you could do is to write a five star review. Businesses thrive on reviews because let's face it, when we, as the customer or their patient are looking for, Uh, a new service, like a new mechanic, a new coffee shop, a new restaurant, a new veterinarian. We read reviews and a lot of times we make our buying decisions based on reviews.

So show your local businesses love. Leave a five star review. It'll make their day. So there you have it. Just a few ways to show appreciation to your local business. Go out and take my advice. Hope you, uh, actually do that. Uh, if you want some other tips on how to live in gratitude and how to actually run a business by using gratitude to build relationships.

I've got a really cool toolkit, uh, gratitude toolkit.com, lots of different tips and strategies that you could do to better your life and to better your professional career. I'm Scott Colby with Say It With Gratitude, and this has been the Daily Gratitude Minute. Cheers.

Welcome back to the Daily Gratitude Minute. My name is Scott Colby from Say It With Gratitude. I wanted to share with you one of my other interests besides gratitude, and that's hiking. You may not know it, but I'm a hiking guide. I'm also a fitness professional, fitness coach. I help people get in shape.

Now, if you think about it, hiking has very similar benefits to gratitude. They both can help your mental wellbeing, and so I love helping people get out in nature and going for a hike. I think it can do a lot for you, not only physically but mentally. Just like I mentioned, I take groups out on hikes. One of my goals in the next year is to help more people get out in nature and hike.

I've got a couple things. Uh, on the horizon. Some have already gotten started that I just wanted to share with you. I've got a YouTube channel called the grateful hiker.com, the grateful hiker.com. It's got a few different things, some videos on how to get in shape for hiking. I'll be doing a lot more of those in the upcoming years.

It's got some hiking tips and some even, uh, just kind of like vlog style videos of me going on a hike here in the Smoky Mountains, which is near where I live. . And then the other thing that I have going on for next year is helping people get in shape to hike. So if you go to the website, SOFA to summit, S O F A T O S U M M I T, sofa, two summit.com, I've got some free leg exercises and leg workout.

that you can download. Uh, and once you download those, you'll be on my email list to get more emails on getting in shape to, to climb mountains and to go for hikes. So I wanted to just offer that to you if you want to, if you're interested in, in getting in shape. And you, your summit doesn't have to be the top of a mountain.

uh, it certainly is not everybody's cup of tea. Maybe your summit is you want to be able to walk to, to the end of the driveway, walk around the block, or be able to play with your kids or grandkids. That could be your summit. These exercises and workout will get you in shape for whatever your summit is.

I'm designing. In my head to get people in shape to hike a mountain. But again, everybody's mountain is different. So go to sofa to summit.com and download those. And one of my goals coming up in the next couple of weeks is to put together a free 30 day sofa to Summit challenge, a free 30 day sofa to summit challenge, which will be a daily.

kind of work out for you to do over the next 30 days. There's gonna be some rest and kind of recovery days, so don't worry you're not gonna do 30 days of intense working out. But if you desire to get in shape, uh, for either a real mountain or just, uh, whatever your summit is. Um, again, go to sofa to summit.com, download the free workouts that I have available now, and then you're gonna be put on the list to get notified when that 30 day challenge will begin.

So hope that helps you. Um, if you have any questions, of course, you can email me, Scott Scott colby.com. . I am Scott Colby with Say It With the Gratitude, and this has been your daily gratitude minute. Thank you so much for listening. Cheers.

Welcome back to the Daily Gratitude Minute. My name is Scott Colby. From Say It With Gratitude. You know, as we wind down the year, it is, uh, almost the end of 2022, as I record this and a lot of people are spending the holidays with friends and family members, I thought about like, how can we approach the end of the year with positivity in our heads instead of.

Remembering maybe the bad that came your way this year. So I took five questions from the Grateful Deck and. I want to tell you what these questions are in hopes that you maybe use one or all of these questions during your family dinners, uh, during the holidays. I think these are great questions to wrap up the year as a way to reflect the good in our lives.

In this year before we turn the calendar into, into the next year. So, uh, first question, and again, this is, I'm recording this at the end of 2022. So what was your favorite memory of 2022 or just what was your favorite memory this year? Second question. What are you grateful for today that you didn't have until this year?

Number three, tell me about a challenge you had this year and a positive that you took away. . Number four, what is the kindest thing somebody did for you this year? And number five, what excites you about life right now? So imagine reflecting on the good that came your way this year instead of focusing on the bad.

Hope this helps. Now again, this comes from the Grateful Deck, which is my card game of 120 questions just like you. that stimulate meaningful conversations. You can buy the actual physical copy of the deck over at my website. Say it with gratitude.com. Say it with gratitude.com. If you just want the downloadable version, it is free.

You can download it [email protected]. I'm Scott Colby with Say It With Gratitude and this has been the Daily Gratitude Minute. Cheers.

Welcome back to the Daily Gratitude Minute. This is Scott Colby from Say It With Gratitude. We are less than a week from Christmas. It's a time of year that is very joyful for many people. But I also wanna remind you that it is a challenging time of year for a lot of us, and so it's. Reminder that we all experience this time of year differently.

For some people, it's a time of joy getting together with friends and family. For other people, it's a stressful time. Uh, it's a time that we may be grieving, maybe suffering loss, maybe depressed, sad, anxious, whatever the case may be. Not everybody experiences the holidays the same, so just wanted to remind you to be.

Uh, I guess extra kind this holiday season. Give people grace, uh, acknowledge them, make people feel good. Um, it's a great time of year to. So appreciation to people in your life that are meaningful to you. Make people smile, uh, because again, for many of us, we, uh, are looking for reasons to smile during the holidays, and we don't have that.

So if you can go out every your way. And make somebody feel good this holiday season, why not do that? I'm Scott Colby from Saint With Gratitude, and this has been the Daily Gratitude Minute. Cheers.