Good morning, Team! It’s Friday!

Some people are prone to find wrong with everything. Thus the saying, “He’d bitch about being hung with a new rope.” There’s a little tension or dose of reality in the phrase because…shit happens…and most people do not naturally take it in stride.

I’ve been fully engaged with the NBA this year and our Timberwolves are fun to watch right now. Current opposing team, the Denver Nuggets, have a multi-year MVP who is tough to win against. Shaquille O’Neal, a former pro basketball player, successful businessman and sportscaster interviewed Nikola Jokic recently and grilled him for his most recent MVP title saying he should feel bad that his stats didn’t match up to others. Jokic took it in stride, praised his fellow nominees and looked forward to proving he was worthy of the title by playing great basketball. He didn’t strike back at Shaq, he didn’t throw a fit or complain, he’s playing the long game and he shrugged it off. (Let me be clear, I hope the Wolves win on Sunday but you can’t ignore the professionalism exhibited in the story above).

Gratitude is not naïveté. You can be thankful for adversity. You can see past the shit and realize you’re being given the gift of perspective. If everything went your way you’d think you deserved it all or you earned it and eventually wouldn’t know how to handle defeat gracefully, if at all.

Lift your head up for a minute. Breathe. Look around. Relax. Gain perspective. Reserve judgement. Count your blessings. Help others. Forgive those who mistreated you. Rise above the noise, the cynicism and the bullshit. Chart your course and set sail again.

Have a blessed weekend!

Eric