As we prepare for Thanksgiving, and reflect on the many blessings in our lives . . . after we take a few moments to acknowledge how our days are enriched by family, friends, home and hearth . . . maybe, just maybe, we should also recognize the importance of thorns in our lives.

Seriously, this is not Thanksgiving carb-induced babbling. I’m talking about those people or situations that are a thorn in your side, a burr under your saddle, that might start out as a minor irritant but simply won’t go away. Yep, those. You would be surprised how often, hidden inside the aggravation of said thorn, there is a leadership lesson . . . and the irritation of the situation is unlikely to go away until the lesson is extracted.

I’m not referring to the one and done annoying people/situations. That’s just life. I’m talking about the things that just keep poking at you. You think you have addressed the situation and yet it keeps rearing its head time and again. Sooner or later, you’re going to have to ask yourself what you’re supposed to learn from the situation. Why is this such an irritant and what are you going to do differently to get a different outcome?

Easier said than done, I know. But, rest assured, you will continue to be presented the opportunity until you learn the lesson, so you might as well get after it. What kind of lessons might you learn? Maybe it’s about how to best channel someone’s gifts and graces, or finding a way to make them part of the solution rather than an on-going problem. Maybe it’s about the the intentional decision to find a way to move forward, rather than pointing out all the flaws or roadblocks in a given situation. Maybe it’s about choosing to collaborate rather than compete, and the willingness to give a little to ultimately find a win-win. Usually, it’s about moving from a negative mindset toward one with a positive potential. It’s a willingness to risk asking “what if”, even if that is not the most popular option.

Indecision, waffling, wallowing, bellyaching . . . believe it or not, these can be pretty comfortable places to live. You have a lot of company and no one expects much from you. Except that thorn, which will just keep poking at you until you decide to do something about it. And once you do, you just might be amazed at the opportunities that present themselves. The end result of your actions, which might never have happened without the irritation of the thorn, could give you many new reasons to be thankful.

So there you have it. On this Thanksgiving, I wish you countless blessings and good fortune . . . and one or two thorns to keep you searching for new possibilities.