Gratitude, Choices and Courage: Reflections from a year of Transformation

AI version of my courageous feline

I could write at least 50 thank-you letters just from this year’s close interactions alone. I wrote almost none—but I did try to reach out to many of those people in my own way. Since childhood, growing up in a Hispanic family in Bogotá, Colombia, I was taught repeatedly about the importance of gratitude. In my family, gratitude wasn’t just good manners; it was a virtue expressed through appreciation, showing up, and being present. For my father especially, gratitude looked like care and kindness.

As a professional and leader, I’ve discovered that my values gravitate toward a purposeful vision (strategy has always been part of my DNA), caring accountability, integrity, and loyalty. These aren’t just elegant words. They are principles that guide how I engage with companies, colleagues, projects, and results. And when I look closely, I realize that many of these values connect directly to the idea of gratitude—because accountability, presence, and care are all expressions of it.

I chose to write about gratitude because this level of clarity was not consistently present over the last two years. Or at least, it didn’t always feel conscious as I navigated intense personal and professional challenges. The result was a highly emotional journey through contrasting experiences that, as the U.S. holiday of Thanksgiving arrives, evokes the desire to thank many people—and also thank myself—for being resilient and enduring so much change.

From tariffs and elections to wars, environmental shocks, supply-chain volatility, and the accelerating force of AI, change today is no longer optional—it is a requirement. So I invite leaders to reflect:

• What changes did your teams or organizations navigate this year?

• And which of those can evoke a sense of gratitude?

• Gratitude for the outcome?

• For the journey?

• Or for what was learned along the way?
  

Each leader will have their own stories about 2025. But by choosing to view change through the lens of gratitude, we become more likely to approach outputs, outcomes, impacts, and the humans around them with curiosity and positivity. Does this mean we should celebrate poorly executed or failed changes? Absolutely not. But perhaps we can acknowledge that the information we hold now—whether a change succeeded or failed—becomes new strength for the next transformation ahead.

That is what I’ve learned personally this year. After going through a divorce and losing my father to terminal cancer, I have felt something inside me renew. A strength to continue using my strategic planning, quality, and change management skills to contribute value to organizations, industries, and society. A strength to endure personal difficulties, moments of emotional vulnerability, and seasons that remind me—as a leader and at times as an advisor—that I must remain grateful for choosing change and for embracing what it brings. These experiences forced me to redefine what strength actually means: a courageous journey rooted in focusing only on what is within your control, adapting, planning, and responding to the ride.

A Chinese proverb I used in one of my first strategic planning engagements in 2013 and 2014 says it best:

“When the winds of change arrive, some build walls and some build windmills.”

Challenge and change—personal, professional, or organizational—are here to teach us something, if we are grateful enough to learn the lesson. I am grateful for the ride that this year has brought, and I am ready to keep moving forward. I am grateful to the United States, its people, its businesses, my current company, and the leaders I’ve met and worked with along the way. Each has contributed to my growth and my understanding of change. Now, you might ask: what does all this have to do with courage, given the title “Gratitude, Choices and Courage”?

I believe simply being alive and stepping up is already an act of courage—especially when you lead a team or an organization and carry so many responsibilities. Navigating change is courageous.

In a recent Harvard Business Review article (September–October 2025), Professor Ranjay Gulati describes courage as the willingness to take bold, risky actions in service of a purpose you deem worthy, often in the face of fear. Leaders such as Mandela, Ukraine’s Zelensky, and BlackRock’s Larry Fink use strategies like creating a positive narrative, cultivating confidence, taking small steps, fostering connection, and staying calm—tools that allow them to remain resilient amid uncertainty.

Being courageous is not about being loud. It doesn’t always look like a big, game-changing decision. Sometimes it’s the courage to slow down, to speak with honesty, and to take deep care of ourselves.

I believe that gratitude toward oneself and others is also a courageous way to embrace change. Gratitude is a discipline and a muscle you can exercise daily. Gratitude grounds you and gives you strength; courage moves you.