If you’ve started salivating for turkey with stuffing, tart cranberry sauce and home-made pumpkin pie, you’re not alone. Thanksgiving is a time of year that manages to tug on our heartstrings, and for good reason. Memories of years passed are stirred, and many of us look forward to taking a pause from our busy professional lives to spend time with our friends, family and loved ones.

And yet, as the year draws to a finish, it’s easy to let Thanksgiving come and pass with little real reflection for all we have to be thankful for. Amidst pressing deadlines and mounting paperwork, I urge you to make the time to reflect: What blessings in your life are you grateful for?

My husband Mike and I are grateful for our freedom, family, friends and colleagues. We feel fortunate to be surrounded by a team of successful online business managers, copywriters, social media managers, marketing experts and branding masters. Both Mike and I recognize that there is no Celeste Giordano Coaching without our Master Team.

Here are three things to be grateful for this thanksgiving:

Your independence. As an entrepreneur or business owner, you can make choices and take chances you couldn’t otherwise make professionally. With strategic planning and self-discipline, anything is possible. You can set your own schedule and build your own legacy. Even if you’ve struggled this year to reach your goals, you have the freedom to continue to pursue your dreams and learn from your mistakes.

Your family. Perhaps you have a spouse who supports you, cooks for you, or carries you through your low days. Or maybe you’re grateful for a sibling or parent who’s always quick to lend a listening ear. Whether you have a family or have friends who are akin to family, be sure to let them know just how much they mean to you. Don’t take them for granted. Even the most promising career is empty without loved ones to share it with.

Your team. Because this time of year is so busy, it’s often easy to forget to thank those colleagues, employees and contractors who enable you to stay in business and achieve your goals. If you have a client that’s been with you for months or years, thank them for their business. Do you have an administrative assistant who helps you stay on the ball? Get him or her a bottle of wine and a written thank you card. These expressions of thanks and tokens of gratitude can go a long way.

Sure, there are areas of your business and person life which you’d like to improve upon, and I encourage you to strive for greatness in both realms. But, and this is key, at this time of year it’s important to focus on the positive. Record some of your achievements and blessings in a journal and review them from time to time to maintain a positive, optimistic outlook.

If you find yourself struggling with coming up with a list of things to be grateful for, I strongly encourage a trip to your local soup kitchen. Volunteering to help those less fortunate can be a humbling experience that both enriches your community and makes you more conscious of how fortunate you are to be in a position to give.

May 2015 carry with it many blessings!