Confession. I don’t exercise regularly. I can curse like a truck driver. I don’t meditate, I hate to clean and I am not an inspired cook. I order Domino’s pizza, and I eat way too much chocolate every day. The truth is, I deplore the mask of perfection. DEPLORE it. Give me the real, beautifully messy and wild, out-of-the-box, spontaneous, passionately authentic person and I’ll show you someone who lives their truth, someone who’s a breath of fresh air. A person who’s not afraid to say “please forgive me but I can’t”, “I effed up”, “I don’t know”, and “I forgot”.

Truth #1: Gratitude becomes less and less effort when we are vulnerable and authentic about who we are, and accept who we are NOT.

Truth #2: Cultivating gratitude means forgiving ourselves and taking a hard look at the parts we ignore, hide, or deny, and the parts we aren't proud of. Knowing these parts can help us figure out what we want to let go of.

Truth #3: Living a grateful life becomes easier when judgement falls away, for ourselves and then for others. When this happens, we build resilience and soon DON'T CARE about being judged, and instead feel compassion and forgiveness for those who judge us.

Life lessons come in small pieces, like bread crumbs spread over years, perhaps even lifetimes. Sometimes we have to relearn those pieces over and again. The bottom line is we seek truth, always. Truth in ourselves, truth in others, truth in purpose, truth in vision. When we find truth, gratitude is right there beside it, waiting to be snatched up. Always do your best, knowing that your best may never be perfect, and that's perfectly okay.

Learn more about how to start your own gratitude practice in our guide.