It is a known fact that my hands get colder WAY longer into the season than the average person.  If it is below 60 degrees, there is a good chance that I will slip into my Isotoners and glove up!

And so I found myself at 5:30am on an unseasonably frigid morning this past Saturday, debating the prudence of packing my gloves for a trip down to sunny Florida.  Sure it was freezing in the moment.  But I would only be outside for a few seconds, jumping from the Uber to the warmth of the airport.  Why not pack light?

I arrived at the airport super early, as I had heard of horror stories in security lines across the country.  It seemed to be hit or miss so I wasn’t too worried.  But as the Uber rolled up to the Departures Area, I could tell right away it was a massive miss!

There was a horde of humanity twisting haphazardly for what seemed to be miles.  And they were OUTSIDE.  That couldn’t possibly be the line?  With my heart in my throat, and my hands in my sleeves, I asked the nearest airport official if the line for security was inside.  It was as if I asked him if the moon was made of cheese.

“Inside?  Man, you’ve got hours on the sidewalk before you get inside!”

And no truer words had ever been spoken.  The struggle is real.

The line snaked around ropes and makeshift turnstiles like some masochistic Disney ride.  Dressed only in a hoodie and jeans, and facing sub-30-degeee pre-dawn weather, this was going to require some serious resilience.

And for the next few hours, I felt sorry for myself.  Why didn’t I pack my gloves?  There was no downside to storing them in my bag if I didn’t need them.  What a bonehead move!  And as my hands turned a brighter shade of blue, I started thinking about all the other poor decisions I had made in life.  And just when I thought I had it the worst, I picked up my head and noticed all the other people in the line.

There were older people in shorts.  There were little kids toting Mickey Mouse suitcases dressed in tank tops.  There was guy wrapped in a luggage cart tarp using it as a “blanket”.  Not only were there other people in the same boat as me, but many of them were even more ill-prepared.

And that’s when my viewpoint shifted entirely. Instead of lamenting my missing gloves, I was grateful I had a hoodie and long pants.  I was grateful for what I had.  It could have been so much worse and all things considered; I was blessed.  And that brought me the warmth I needed to persevere.

And that shift in perspective is so important for all of us as we navigate our business and personal lives.

Focus on What We Have

In business, it’s easy to fall into the trap of scarcity thinking. We measure ourselves against competitors, peers, or arbitrary milestones and convince ourselves we’re behind. The missing promotion. The deal that didn’t close. The recognition that went to someone else. But gratitude flips the script.

Instead of obsessing over the one opportunity that slipped away, we start to see the ten that are still in front of us. Instead of focusing on the client we lost, we double down on the ones who trust us. Instead of wishing for a different team, we invest in the one we have—and often unlock more than we thought possible.

Gratitude Allows Us To Move Forward

The same holds true in our personal lives. It’s human nature to compare—someone always seems further along, a bigger house, more put together. But when we pause and take inventory of what’s actually in front of us—the people who show up for us, the small wins, the quiet moments of progress—we realize we’re far from empty-handed. In fact, we’re often carrying more than enough.

Gratitude doesn’t mean ignoring ambition or settling for less. It means grounding ourselves in reality so we can move forward with clarity instead of frustration. It’s the difference between operating from a place of lack versus a place of strength.

Who Needs Gloves?

That morning in the freezing airport line, my external circumstances didn’t change. I still didn’t have gloves. It was still cold. The wait was still long. But everything felt different the moment I stopped focusing on what was missing and started appreciating what was already there.

We don’t always get to choose the conditions—but we always get to choose the lens.

Most of us are standing in our own version of that airport line more often than we realize—fixated on what we don’t have instead of what we do.

It turns out, we don’t need gloves—we just need the perspective to see what is already keeping us warm.