You’ll find the basics of ONE-WORD Gratitude by clicking here if you haven’t seen that yet.

Here are the first three prompts:

Our 4th ONE-WORD Gratitude prompt is TRUNK.

It’s actually the example page I show inside The ONE-WORD Gratitude Journal so I’ll just share that here.

When I read the word trunk, I immediately saw the trunk at the foot of my bed in basic military training. Then I thought about subwoofers LOL.

The word trunk triggered gratitude for:

• The people who sent me letters while I was in basic training

• All my military experiences

• The times I had as a teenager riding around with my brothers and friends just playing loud music in cars

• All the trips and miles I’ve traveled accident-free

Does the word TRUNK trigger you to be grateful for anything?

Today’s gratitude prompt:

TRUNK

Leave a comment if you think of something related to the word trunk that you, someone you know, or even someone you don’t know might be grateful for.

And there are a few “monumental” events in this season of life that have pulled the classic cliche move of “getting here before we know it.”

For example:

Time is definitely moving faster than we are.

Yesterday’s prompt was triggered by my reading “TIME” on the One-Word Gratitude prompt list. But I didn’t mention the word and ended up going in a slightly different direction.

So today we’re using the word directly.

If you’re new to the newsletter, missed it the first time, or just need a refresher, you can review the basics of One-Word Gratitude here.

When you’re ready,👇🏿.

Here’s today’s gratitude prompt:

TIME

What image comes to mind when you read the word time?

What do you, people you know, or strangers have to be grateful for related to the image in your mind?

Related to time, what might you (or they):

• have been grateful for in the past?

• be grateful for in the future?

• be grateful for right now?

We’ll never see this specific moment again.

That can be a sobering acknowledgment.

I categorize this as one of the “weird things I think about - when I think about weird things.”

But every single day and moment we experience is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Sit with that.
For a moment.
For a once-in-a-lifetime moment.

.

.

.

.

If you are old enough to be reading this, you’ve likely lived a lot of moments.

Some great.

Some bad.

Some happy.

Some sad.

And since I started rhyming…
I’ll consider this good timing…

To continue along these lines.
Because rhythm opens minds.

And while I meant to keep this short…
I’ll do nothing of the sort.

If there’s a message I am giving.
That’ll help you maximize your living.

Now, I didn’t plan this out; I’m just going with the flow.
Experiencing the here and now - I’m just sharing what I know.

And at this point, it is time to move along.
It was never my intention; for this to turn into a…

Nevermind.

Today’s gratitude prompt:

What could make the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity of TODAY something I’m grateful I experienced?

According to me, Gratitude Everywhen is a creative gratitude framework where we consider the following:

1. What am I (or they) experiencing NOW that I can be grateful for?

2. What might I (or they) experience in the FUTURE that I can be grateful for?

3. What might I (or they) have experienced in the PAST that I can be grateful for?

The “(or they)’s” are from The Gratitude Ladder1.

You can use Gratitude Everywhen with:

• Your own reasons to be grateful

• Other people’s reasons to be grateful

• A combination of both like above

• Or HOWEVER, YOU FEEL LIKE DOING IT - whatever helps you tap into the feelings of peace, joy, love, growth, etc., that come when you’re really feeling gratitude.

It’s simply another helpful way to exercise your “be more grateful” muscle so you can practice gratitude in difficult situations.

Combining it with One-Word Gratitude narrows it down so you’re not looking across all of Now, Future, and Past…

But again, this is YOUR gratitude practice.
Do it however you benefit the most.

Below, you’ll see an example of how I do it.

Today’s (One-Word) gratitude prompt:

SIDE

What do I see when I think of the word ‘side’?

Right now I think about being on the sidelines at one of my son’s games.

Applying Gratitude Everywhen:

• NOW: I’m grateful for the joy I see on my son’s face when he’s playing AND the frustration and pain he’s feeling as he’s growing through the challenges.

• FUTURE: I imagine (Lord willing) my wife and I reminiscing about these times and even sharing memories of these times with our grandkids.

• PAST: I’m grateful my parents, grandparents, and other family members got to see me enjoy myself in extracurricular activities as a kid. I’m thinking about the joy they felt and the sacrifices they made to make it happen.

Two people messaged me (outside of Substack) with similar messages - saying they really liked that prompt/exercise.

Right now, while writing this prompt:

• the prompt referenced above has 23 views

• this whole newsletter has 13 subscribers

• and my substack has 20 followers

I’ll take TWO (2) unprompted messages from unrelated people as “statistical significance” that I should share more about this practice.

After me, my wife , is usually the first one to test anything I do. Which was the case with One-Word Gratitude.

One of these days, maybe she and I will record a podcast episode about her first 100 days doing the practice.

But if I remember correctly, her “directions” were similar to what I shared here last week.

1. Pick a word.

2. Think about what you have to be grateful for related to that word.

My brain loves to complicate things.

So I quickly combined my One-Word Gratitude practice with other creative gratitude frameworks.

One is what I call “The Gratitude Ladder”.

When you’re on the bottom rung of the ladder you can only see what YOU have experienced that you can be grateful for.

Once you step up a little to the middle rungs of the ladder, you begin to see what people you know may have experienced that you can be grateful for.

When you reach the top rungs of the ladder, you gain a clear view of what strangers may have experienced that you can be grateful for.

As you practice One-Word Gratitude, you may find some words difficult to relate to something you’re personally grateful for.

But what if it can relate to something your family and friends might be grateful for? Or even to something a stranger might be grateful for?

It still only begins with one word.
You just get to use your imagination a little more this time.

Take 60 seconds and think about what you, people you know, and people you don’t know have to be grateful for about the word.

Today’s (One-Word) gratitude prompt:

BEGIN

What do I see when I think of the word ‘begin’? What might my family and friends be grateful for related to ‘begin’? What might a stranger be grateful for related to the word ‘begin’?

✔️ more time
✔️ more money
✔️ more expertise

"Start where you are, with what you have. Make something of it and never be satisfied.” - George Washington Carver

He’s not saying don’t become better.

He’s not saying don’t use your time wiser, don’t get more money, and don’t develop more skills.

He IS saying, don’t let those things stop you from starting.

He’s simply saying…

Start where you are.

Today’s gratitude prompt:

What do I have that I can start with right now?

And until a few moments ago, I always thought I used Google Maps to get here.

I had a Blackberry I thought I had the Google Maps app on. But apparently, that may be a made-up memory.

According to a blog post from Google1, Google Maps didn’t exist on Blackberry until November 2007.

In case you’re too young to know, Blackberry was a smartphone. Kind of.

Android phones didn’t exist yet.
The iPhone was less than a month old.

And Google Maps didn’t come out on Android until 2008 and iOS until 2012. 

So I have no idea what I was using in July 2007 to drive across the country.
But I made it 🤷🏿‍♂️.

I was researching when Google Maps came out to see how long I have been using it.

I currently use it to go almost EVERYWHERE, even places I know how to get to. According to my timeline, I’ve visited 2,113 places.

But one recent morning, I decided to not use Google Maps. I was driving to one of my kids’ schools that I’ve driven to literally hundreds of times in the last few years.

I know multiple ways to get there.

And still, somehow, without that audible “turn left in 500 feet” in the background, I missed a turn that would’ve saved me ten minutes.

I didn’t think much of it until 20 minutes later, when without using Google Maps - to go to a coffee shop I’ve visited at least 2 dozen times - I drove further than necessary. Again.

Maybe I should’ve been more mindful while driving. But here’s what I know…

When I listen to Google Maps, I don’t miss as many turns, get stuck in as much traffic, or waste as much time.

Today’s gratitude prompt:

What didn’t exist 5/10/15 years ago, that I now have access to and use religiously?

Because:

• It only takes one word.

• You can do it in less than 90 seconds.

• You can learn how to do it in less than 5 minutes.

And really, you can learn a basic 2-step version in mere moments.

Here’s the basic version:

1. Choose ONE word from the 100 One-Word Gratitude prompts shared below. (Don’t think too hard, just choose the first one that you notice.)

2. Take 60 seconds to meditate on what you—or someone you know—might be grateful for related to the word you noticed.

There’s usually a mental image you see when you read a word.

For example, TRUCK was one of the first words I did this with.

A mental image that came to mind was one of my earliest jobs as a teenager, helping deliver produce to grocery stores. Which we did on a truck.

I had so many things to be grateful for as I thought of that time.

✔️ The life-long lessons from working so hard.
✔️ The friendships I formed that lasted years beyond the farm.
✔️ The free honey buns I’d get from a small corner store downtown.
✔️ The delicious grits, hash, bacon, & eggs from one Bi-Lo we delivered to.

SIDENOTE: Food is in a lot of my thankful thoughts. 🫣

You can go way beyond 60 seconds.
But 60 seconds is enough.

Every word below is not as easy to picture as “TRUCK”, but it’s good to be stretched with this exercise.

No matter the word, the goal is super simple.

One word.
60 seconds.
Really FEEL it.

Repeat until you complete the list.

Today’s (100 One-Word) gratitude prompt:

Choose one word from the list. Feel the thankful thoughts it brings up for 60 seconds.

And if you prefer the 100 One-Word Gratitude prompts in text, here they are:

1. BEGIN

2. SIDE

3. TIME

4. TRUNK

5. INTRODUCE

6. EARTH

7. DENIED

8. BOOK

9. HARD

10. FUNNY

11. UNTIL

12. LEAD

13. JUMP

14. INVENTION

15. MATTRESS

16. INK

17. CHILD

18. LUNG

19. LOCAL

20. LIMIT

21. SERVICE

22. CONTINUE

23. REMAIN

24. DANCE

25. QUIT

26. INSIDE

27. SAFE

28. FAST

29. EXTREME

30. PROTECT

31. HONEST

32. JOURNEY

33. LEAVE

34. WHOLE

35. CRY

36. ACCEPT

37. KITCHEN

38. NOISE

39. THINK

40. WHISPER

41. KNEE

42. QUESTION

43. SKILLED

44. ADDITION

45. FLAVOR

46. FLOWER

47. HELP

48. TIRE

49. CHEER

50. UP

51. ACCESS

52. DEFINE

53. FLOAT

54. HOLD

55. OFFER

56. ONLY

57. KNOW

58. PLANT

59. GARBAGE

60. FINISH

61. SIMPLE

62. GREEN

63. EYES

64. BALL

65. VISIT

66. SMILE

67. LEARN

68. ME

69. MORNING

70. SATURDAY

71. PICTURE

72. MINT

73. FAVORITE

74. OLD

75. REPEAT

76. ΑΝΝΟΥ

77. NEW

78. YEAR

79. REST

80. WORK

81. NECK

82. PEOPLE

83. YES

84. ALL

85. BEACH

86. BETTER

87. NUMBER

88. OURS

89. FREE

90. GO

91. JUICE

92. VARIETY

93. NEAR

94. KEY

95. GIFT

96. DANGER

97. CAR

98. BACK

99. NO

100. LANGUAGE

No.

Because this was an idea I had back in 2014. And I never launched it. 🤦🏿‍♂️

I won’t spend too much time crying over spilled milk.

But I missed a daily gratitude prompt here. 😭

Not that I expected to be “perfect” and never miss a day. I just didn’t expect to miss one this soon.

While:

1. There are almost a dozen draft prompts on the back end waiting to be finalized and shared.

2. I have 100+ prompts I’ve written for myself over the years.

3. And I still want to share the “creative gratitude practices” I use as a foundation for my personal gratitude habit.

Life handed me lemons yesterday.

So I missed a day.
But the truth is, I didn’t have to.

I’ve had this thought for years (can’t remember if I heard it somewhere or if it’s a Conrad original) that:

When life hands you lemons, you can do more than make lemonade, you can open a lemonade stand.

But sometimes a lemonade stand may be too much. It takes way more than just lemons.

Sometimes making lemonade may be too much. What if you don’t have any water?

Sometimes you should give the lemons to someone else.

Maybe someone who knows how to make:

• lemon oil

• lemon bars

• lemon risotto

• lemon preserves

• lemon meringue pie

• lemon chicken pasta

What if you just want to eat the lemons?

What if you don’t want to do anything with the lemons today? 🤷🏿‍♂️

These are all viable options.

We can do (or not do) whatever we choose with what we’ve been handed.

We can combine what we’ve been given (lemons) with other resources to bring smiles to people’s faces and put profits in our pockets (a lemonade stand).

We can tap into other people’s skills to make lemony delicious treats.

Or we can do something much simpler.

Today’s gratitude prompt:

When have I seen “lemons” turned into a “lemonade stand” that brought smiles to people’s faces?

She said, “It helped that our mom made us write reflection papers when we got in trouble as kids.”

Then she says:

While all the Deas kids can write well, Conrad is probably the best because he got in trouble the most and had the most practice.

She’s not lying. 🤷🏿‍♂️

So today’s gratitude prompt:

What felt like punishment but actually prepared you for your future?

“A person's success in life can usually be measured by the number of uncomfortable conversations he or she is willing to have.”

It helped change my marriage.

Because I quickly realized there were uncomfortable conversations I wasn’t willing to have.

With my wife.
With myself.
With God.

I tend to see things in pictures.

Even today, when I read that quote, I see a path littered with obstacles.

And I imagine my goal is to make it to the other end of the path.
But the only way to get there is through the obstacles.

There’s no way around them.
There’s no way under them.
There’s no way over them.

The only way is through them.

And those obstacles are the uncomfortable conversations.

Over the years, I’ve grown willing to have those uncomfortable conversations - not every time, but enough times to notice the difference.

For years I heard the quote, “You’ve got to get comfortable with being uncomfortable.”

I’m not sure if this is truer anywhere than in the conversations you’re willing to have with yourself and others.

Here’s the good news.

We only have to have these conversations one at a time.

Meaning we’re only one conversation away from making progress.
Which conversation will it be?
We never know.

So we have to be willing to have them whenever they come up. And it helps to be grateful for the ones we’ve already had.

Today’s gratitude prompt:

What are the uncomfortable conversations that have made a big difference in my life? Or the ones that WILL make a big difference in my life?

What’s something you don’t HAVE to do a specific way?

**CONTINUE BELOW**

If you read the daily gratitude prompts before this one, you’ll see the gratitude prompt is always at the bottom.

Today, I switched things up.

Simply to prove a point.
Mostly to myself.

But maybe the point will help you too.

What’s the point?
I CAN switch things up.

I can do “sdrawkcab tpmorp eht”1. Only a few things in life MUST be done a specific way. And many of those happen autonomously.

Or is it autonomically?
Or is it automatically?

Which brings us back to the point.

I really want to figure out which word is the proper one to use above. Automatically. Autonomously. Autonomically. Which is it!?!? And normally I’d figure that out. Then go back and edit. I’d also normally remove the word really from the first sentence of this paragraph. I’d also normally delete this whole paragraph and start over. I also usually don’t write paragraphs this long for these prompts.

But again…

This doesn’t HAVE to be done a certain way.

I can put square objects in round holes.

It’s okay to bE fLEXIBLE.

Even if it means people hate the writing in this prompt.

Even if it gives the writing gatekeepers an example to show why there should be writing gatekeepers.

It’s just how I’m feeling today. Maybe tomorrow I’ll “write it right correctly”. 🤷🏿‍♂️

Drastic (and uncommon) results.

He did several things to make that happen.
But there was ONE Too Simple Strategy that was the foundation of everything.

In his own words…

“Here’s the Critical thing that Every Marketer needs to Get Better at…

What is working?
And then, how can you do more of it?

What is NOT working?
And how can you do less of it?”

How simple is that?
Too simple for the common (wo)man to take seriously.

But for those willing to live an uncommon life…

Whether you’re looking for drastic results to:

• increase your peace

• lower your blood pressure

• decrease business expenses

• increase intimacy in your relationship

Noah’s questions may help.

1. What’s working?

2. What’s NOT working?

3. How can I do more and less of each?

Today’s gratitude prompt:

What am I glad I no longer do?
What am I glad I started (or will start) doing?

In the book The ONE Thing1, authors Gary Keller and Jay Papasan share the story of a San Francisco physics experiment.

Starting with a two-inch domino, they were able to knock over a three-foot-tall domino2.

The three-foot-tall domino was the 8th in line.

Each domino, starting with the tiny two-inch domino, was able to knock over a domino 50% larger than itself.

On its own, the two-inch domino would have had no effect on the three-foot domino.

But geometric progression made it possible.

They said if they went beyond eight dominoes:

• The 10th domino would be as tall as an NFL quarterback.

• The 23rd domino would be taller than the Eiffel Tower.

And it all began with a two-inch domino.

Of course, your life is not perfectly sized dominoes - in the right order - in a straight line.

But there’s a “two-inch starting/next step” to your “Eiffel Tower-sized goal”.

Need to finish your book?
Write the first/next word.

Want to run a marathon?
Jog slowly for one minute.

Need to make a big purchase?
Set aside the first dollar.

Want a better marriage?
Have the first conversation.

Figure out the smallest thing you CAN do first/next.

Then do that.
Then celebrate.

To help you get started, here’s today’s gratitude prompt:

What’s the two-inch step I can take toward something I’ve been putting off - and how can I celebrate pushing the first domino?

It takes time to develop a sincere thank you for some things.

For other things…

Our “thank you” is automatic.

And some things…

We may never be thankful for.

And that’s okay.

We can only be where we are. To try and be somewhere else is silly.

Lying to yourself, to convince yourself, doesn’t work.

So if you’re not thankful for something. Don’t pretend to be. 🤷🏿‍♂️

But also…

Don’t ignore what you ARE thankful for - while you’re experiencing what you’re NOT thankful for.

Two things can be true at once.

Todays gratitude prompt:

Be honest. What am I NOT thankful for right now? And what am I thankful for at the same time?

One included over 400 adults, ages 18 to 68 - 40% of them with sleep disorders.

These studies found that gratitude was correlated with:

✅ Falling Asleep Faster

✅ Staying Asleep Longer

✅ Better Sleep Overall

But it’s 2024 now.

Life is different today.

YOUR life is different today.

Will being grateful before bed help YOU fall asleep faster, stay asleep longer, and get better sleep overall??? 👀

Only one way to find out…

Today’s gratitude prompt:

FEEL The Gratitude: Think about ANYTHING you’re grateful for. Pause. SEE it in your mind and FEEL where you feel it in your body. Sit with that feeling for at least 5 minutes before bed. If you feel inclined to, WRITE WHY you’re grateful for that thing by hand.

I have a 216 month old now 🤗.

Being a parent can be the most…

• Exhilarating

• Exhausting

• Fun

• Frustrating

• Painful

• Passionate

• Humbling

• Hope-filled

• Delightful

• Daunting

• Awe-Inspiring

• Anxiety-Inducing

• Joy-Giving

• Jitters-Giving

• Concerning, and

• Celebratory-Causing

journey a human can take.

And I appreciate being trusted with another human life.

Today’s gratitude prompt:

What am I being trusted with that makes my journey of life beautiful, even if it’s frustrating at times?

What makes it ridiculous?

Sometimes the way I end up at gratitude from the prompts is ridiculous.

The connection between the prompt and my gratitude could be a ridiculous stretch.

The reason I’m grateful could be ridiculously small.

The point is to be ridiculously proactive about gratitude for 100 days. Each year.

With a goal of automatic gratitude becoming a habit the other 265/266 days of the year. 🤷🏿‍♂️

Today’s gratitude prompt:

What’s a ridiculous reason for me to be grateful today?

Most of my neighbors would think I’m crazy for saying that.

The “beautiful” part at least.
Because this is NOT the season we normally get rain.

It’s usually sunny with a side of jealousy-inducing temperatures this time of year.

But just because the weather wasn’t what we expected today, doesn’t mean it has to be something we complain about.

As Brian Johnson says:

“Arguing with the WEATHER is one of the most ridiculous things we can do“

His son was telling him how much he loved the fall temperature in their hometown. Then he asks Brian what his favorite season temperature is. 

Brian told him:

“The temperature RIGHT NOW is ALWAYS my ABSOLUTE favorite.”

102 degrees and humid?
Great! Free sauna. 

51 degrees and freezing? Perfect.
Cold plunge. Reboot the nervous system.

Brian adopted this mindset with the help of Michael Singer who says:

“Suffering is caused by the contrast between what you mentally decided you want and the reality unfolding in front of you. To whatever degree they don’t match, you suffer.”

So whether it’s rainy, sunny, or somewhere in between…

Beauty (and better) is in the eye of the beholder.

And for today’s gratitude prompt:

What have I complained about recently that could be beautiful if I saw it a different way?

The population of the United States TODAY is 341,481,756.2

So about 0.054% of the US population works in the flooring industry.

This is fresh on my mind as I had a recent visit from a flooring professional to fix some things in my house.

Being in business 25 years, he worked in more homes than I’ll probably ever see in my entire life.

He had an appreciation for things that 99.946% of us never even think about.

Things that have to do with something we all walk on everyday.

Today’s gratitude prompt:

What am I overlooking, that someone else has immense appreciation for?