Gratitude and Attitude Are a Choice

Gregory Miller
President/CEO Penn-Mar Human Services

Each morning when we wake up to greet the day, I believe all of us are given the opportunity to say, “OK, this could be a good or bad day, so what do I need to do to make it a good one?”

We often complain about what we don’t have or what isn’t going according to plan. But we really do have control over certain outcomes and it’s up to us to decide if we will be defeated by our circumstances or empowered by them.

Not surprisingly, appreciation, which I believe is primarily fueled by thankfulness, is a Penn-Mar Core Value: We value the people we support, their families, our team members, volunteers, and the community at large, with the goal of enriching every life we touch.

This Thanksgiving, I am thankful that I have the good fortune to witness this Core Value in action each-and-every day here at Penn-Mar. I am especially grateful for all of our team members who chose the road less traveled, conducting themselves professionally and courageously during the last 21 months in spite of overwhelming challenges and great personal sacrifice to affirm the value of every person we support.

We are all pilgrims on this journey, together in a world that is trying to find its footing. Last year we had to live so much of our lives observing from the sidelines. But incredibly, we are still standing tall. We still come into work every day, share our experiences and look into the faces of the people with disabilities we support with the confidence that we have done, and will continue to do, our best for them.

Business trainer Robert Braathe contends that “Gratitude and attitude are not challenges; they are choices.”

The Penn-Mar spirit has been tried, tested and knocked all over the place. But we have emerged from the worst of the pandemic with a heightened level of strength because we made the choice to persevere and be grateful for what we could accomplish when it was hardest to do so.

None of us really knows when our lives and traditions will return to “normal.” But one thing I do know for certain is that the Penn-Mar spirit of innovation will help us to seize opportunities and master them, in spite of the circumstances. That spirit makes me, as the leader of this organization, so proud, appreciative and grateful.

Last Thanksgiving was far from traditional with all of us being asked to forgo family reunions and gatherings because of COVID. Well this year promises to be very different. I hope for all of you it will be the joyous occasion you so deeply deserve and long for. And for every team member who will be working on this day, I appreciate you and I am grateful for your choice to invest in the lives of those we support.

Thank you to everyone in our Penn-Mar family who continually make the choice to enrich every life we touch.