The Value of Being Thankful

I’ll be honest. Years ago, Thanksgiving was mostly about food, family and football for me. I’d pay a little lip service to the idea of giving thanks, but it wasn’t something that I’d ever really taken to heart.

The last few years have been different though. It started in my career as I’ve become acutely aware of all the people who have contributed to my development as a professional, have given me opportunities, and have supported me along the way. Recognizing this has kept me grounded, focused, and at peace with the process. There have been times in my career where I wanted things to happen faster, was frustrated with results, was frustrated at myself for mistakes, got ahead of myself, and was uncertain about the future. All of these have eased up, in part because I have a clearer understanding of how I’ve gotten where I am today.

Furthermore, I’ve shared my appreciation with the people who have helped me along the way. I think that’s important, not just to being that kind of person I want to be, but to make sure they know how they’ve helped me. It's validating for me and for them. It feels good to have those conversations or send out those emails, and makes for a richer life. I don’t mean money wise. I always appreciate feedback, and assume that others do too.

I am incredibly thankful for the opportunities I’ve had in poker. I’d felt for a long time that I had an understanding of performance that could help people in an innovative and positive way...I just didn’t specifically know how. It wasn’t until I began working in poker where it took my coaching ability to the level that I had imagined.

To that end, I’m grateful to all the people I’ve met in poker, the clients I’ve worked with, and all of you have given me feedback and supported my work. Specifically I want to thank Dusty Schmidt for having the foresight not just to hire me, but also to show and support the opportunity for me to jump into poker. Barry Carter who has been helping me write my book for almost a year now, has helped me in a number of ways beyond just book writing and like Dusty, has become a close friend.

While I’ve only spoken so far about poker, I’ve done the same thing in my personal life I as have professionally. I've written a bunch of emails, written letters, made calls, etc to let the important people in my life know they are and how. It’s strengthened my relationships and the enjoyment I have in my life.

I say this mostly because there is great value personally for being thankful and recognizing what and who are important to you. You don’t have to be celebrating thanksgiving tomorrow to do it, and truthfully, I don’t wait for a holiday to tell me to. I do it regularly and when I feel it (or close to it) because I never know what tomorrow brings.

Recognize what you have and know why it's important. If you don't, it creates the need to want more and more and more. Never really satisfied with what you have. It’s cool to want more – I definitely do too, but when that drive for more leaves behind what you already have, you’ve done yourself and all the people who’ve contributed to your life or your game a disservice.

Interestingly the value of recognizing important elements, extends to poker too. The more you recognize the aspects of your game that are strong, both at and away from the table, the easier it is to maintain a balanced perspective when the cards go against you. It’s a practice that when done regularly that creates a mental stop loss. When things get bad, you know immediately what to do and what not to do. In the emotional fog that happens when poker (or life for that matter) get rough, the mind can fall quickly into downward spiral and shatter your confidence. Knowing clearly what is solid in your game (or in your life) to the unconscious competency level – where that knowledge enters your mind automatically no matter how hard the situation is – provides that mental stop loss for your confidence and allows you to be calm in the middle of a shit storm.

Happy Thanksgiving!