Just had a great last weekend here in Panama, feeling sad at having to leave in a few days, heading back to San Francisco.  And so grateful for all that we accomplished and did this summer.  I love being in a state of gratitude, I mean, what’s the alternative?

Many of you know that I love the Stoic philosophy, check out this blurb from them:  “The Stoics saw gratitude as a kind of medicine, that saying “thank you” for every experience was the key to mental health. ‘Convince yourself that everything is the gift of the gods,’ was how Marcus Aurelius put it, “that things are good and always will be.”

And they didn’t just mean this on special days like Thanksgiving Day. Yes, it’s great to be thankful for the usual candidates: For our families, for our health, that we live in a time of (mostly) peace, for the food we eat, etc.

But we should also be grateful for the less obvious things: For the setbacks, for the squabbling habits of other people, for the stress they put on us and whatever other difficulties we might be experiencing.

Why? Because we are only experiencing them because we are alive. Because they are a form of fuel for our philosophy. And as frustrating as they might be, it’s what Fortune chose for us and we might as well make the most of it.

Epictetus has said that every situation has two handles: Which are you going to decide to hold onto? The anger or the appreciation? The one of resentment or of thanks?

So celebrate and be grateful for all the good and bad of your listing business.  Make a gratitude practice a part of your every day life.

It will make the business downs easier to deal with and it will make the business ups that much more rewarding.

Be grateful for it all!