A while back I was visiting a family member who has young children. We were getting ready to have dinner, and the family asked if I’d like to play a game that they play most nights at the dinner table as a way of talking about their day. Of course, I agreed. The game is called “High, Low, MVP”. We all got to talk about our high point of the day, our low point of the day, and the person we would call our MVP (Most Valuable Player) for the day – the person who did something, big or small, that really made a difference for us that day.

As we went around the table talking about the events of our day and the people who made then possible, I realized that this was another gratitude practice. We talked about the things that made us happy and the things that didn’t work out, and everyone joined in the discussion, including the small children. Sometimes the highs and lows were very connected, and sometimes the people who helped us were involved in one or the other. I loved listening to the stories everyone told about their day. I had the opportunity to learn much more about everyone’s different experiences and how I could support them through the remainder of the day and then the next.

I noticed that, often, the MVP mentioned was someone at the table or someone others at the table knew. It allowed us to get almost immediate feedback about how others valued us and the things we did for them that day. It also made us think about the community of people around us, known and unknown, who make a difference in our lives every day.

The more I think about this, I realize it would be a great way to start almost any gathering: a business meeting, a meal with friends, a family gathering over the holidays. And how much better would it be if we did this regularly and really focused on the opportunity to show others our gratitude towards them and the events happening around us all the time?

I encourage you to try it and see what you discover.