TINY THANKS, BIG IMPACT

It’s that time of the year, everyone and all! Where we all take a pause to thank the Lord for the major blessings of our lives: our health, our family, and the roof over our heads. Those are the classics! But we wanted to know: What about the unsung heroes? The tiny, weird, and wonderful aspects of our job or lives that we’ll be oddly sentimental about 20 + years from now?

We asked the team to put on their rose-tinted glasses (and maybe sniff a few air vents) to find the deep, unexpected thanks hiding in the trenches of their daily work lives. The results? A beautiful, chaotic mess of honesty and appreciation.

The Essentials

The truth is, our workday runs on routine, and we are fiercely loyal to the things that prevent small daily disasters. We appreciate the smooth operation of a machine that saves our necks, and the quick-release buckle on a harness that shaves off precious seconds. But our hearts truly belong to the small comforts that keep us from going full caffeine-deprived monster. 

One person summed up the power of predictable routine: “The coffee machine. It’s a tiny, predictable structure in a job that’s often anything but.” And when lunch time rolls around, we’re grateful for the communal spirit of utility: “Grateful we have lots of microwave ovens” (Louie), ensuring the lunchtime queue moves at some sort of “fast” pace.

This sense of nostalgia even extends to the weirder parts of our environment. We’ll miss the reassuring scent of order in the faint smell of sterile alcohol wipes, or the powerful, specific sensory cues of our shared background:

“The smell of fried fish in the kitchen. Say you work with Filipinos without saying you work with Filipinos. LOL.” (Geolyn)

But the ultimate, most intoxicating sensory gift? Louie captured the universal feeling that signals the end of the week and the beginning of endless possibilities: 

“The wonderful, magical, exhilarating, sensual & extremely intoxicating sound of the Friday 4:30 buzzer.”

 The Secondary Superpowers: Skills We Never Meant to Acquire

Who knew that showing up to work every day was training for life? Our jobs have inadvertently sharpened skills we never listed on our résumés—skills required to navigate both the serious and the spectacularly awkward.

Sometimes that skill is high-level diplomacy, learned over countless meetings: “Extraordinary, award-winning day-to-day acting skills working with desirable co-workers.” (Louie). Other times, it’s conquering a quiet nature to connect better and establish better relationships: “Being in sales and marketing helped me learn the importance of small talk and breaking the ice. Thankful for the small wins that can potentially make a big impact.” (Geolyn).

And then there are the moments when training kicks in and saves the day: “I’m thankful this job trained me to maintain absolute calm under pressure. In high-stakes moments, that ability to pause and think rationally is everything.”

Ultimately, these skills morph into personal growth. As Geolyn noted, she found deep gratitude in learning to be warmer, less inhibited, and to consciously “meet people where they’re at,” a realization that has changed the way she leads and lives.

 The Ultimate Life Hack: When Work Makes Life Easier

When we look back, we’ll realize this job didn’t just pay the bills; it refined our personal operating systems.

The most profound lesson carried over to daily life is often the simplest principle of perseverance, summed up perfectly: “The most important non-work lesson? The simple power of consistency: Show up!! No matter what the odds are, if it is against you or for you… just show up!” (Louie).

We are thankful for anything that saves us time and effort at home—the professional skill of better planning complex family logistics, and, yes, the tech we rely on: “Big thanks to my iRobot vacuum… you’re basically a floor ninja, and I’m just here pretending I help. What’s life without YOU?” (Ayin).

And for yours truly, I’m thankful for the modern comforts that maximize downtime: “I am thankful for my Nespresso machine that makes coffee quick and cheap(er), the sheer convenience of frozen dumplings that turn into a meal in less than ten minutes in the air fryer, and of course, having a husband that is also a bartender because he makes me my most favorite drinks anytime I want them!”

Finally, there are the routines we know we will miss the most. These moments aren’t on any meeting agenda, but they are the true dividends of our daily efforts. Geolyn shared her unexpected thanks for the precious, simple car rides to and from school with her 17-year-old son, Greyson.

“In a few months, he’ll be driving on his own and we won’t have these car rides anymore… Whether we’re praying and doing a daily devotional, or I’m yelling or lecturing him… or googling random facts about what our fave rappers real names are… I am extremely thankful for every single moment. Now I’m gonna cry, thaaanks.” (Geolyn) These aren’t just car rides; they are a disappearing routine, a final stretch of guaranteed connection before life sends him onto his own road.