Remote work comes with the shiny promise of freedom: flexible hours, location independence, and immunity from the morning commute. And while all of that is great, what I’ve learned over a decade of working remotely, building an agency, and traveling with my family is this:

Freedom isn’t what makes remote life fulfilling. Gratitude is.

Gratitude is the lens that changes how we experience the freedom we fought so hard for. Working remotely doesn’t suddenly erase all of the challenges in our professional lives, but gratitude allows those challenges to lift us up instead of weighing us down. Over the years, I’ve experienced three life-changing shifts by bringing gratitude into focus.

Overwhelm became Appreciation

When we first moved to Prague, there were days when the culture shock hit hard. The language barrier made simple tasks complicated. The bureaucracy felt insurmountable. Starting a whole new remote lifestyle while simultaneously integrating into a foreign culture made some days feel like we’d bitten off more than we could chew.

But gratitude has this incredible ability to tip the scales.

It came in small moments. A stroll through the Christmas markets in Old Town. An early sunrise walk across the Charles Bridge before the tourists were out of bed. A perfect weekend with our son in a new place, watching him discover the world–not through screens, but through real experiences he’d never imagined.

Moments like these made it feel like we were carving out our own unique place in the world, not just finding a space where we “fit.” They shifted my mindset from “This is too hard” to “This is totally worth it, and I will not give up.” I started viewing those early struggles as part of the meaningful journey that redefined our lives, and for that I am eternally grateful.

Isolation became Connection

Working remotely can absolutely feel isolating if you let it. But gratitude has a way of revealing the community that’s right in front of you, and reminding you to nurture it.

I’m grateful for the team we’ve built across continents, and for the way they appreciate each other out loud. I love to see Slack messages where designers uplift developers, strategists praise copywriters, and for moments when team members open up about their lives and trust us to support them in good times and bad.

I’m grateful for the remote communities that have connected us to amazing people we now call friends. When you open yourself up to creating relationships with people who understand where you’re coming from, the connection feels genuine and supportive. 

And I’m deeply grateful for the partnership I share with my wife, Britt. We’ve built a business and a life together, and we’ve focused on never taking it for granted. On many of our travels, we’ve shared moments where one of us smiles and says “I can’t believe this is our life.”

Gratitude can’t eliminate loneliness, but it will stoke a desire to connect with others who are placed in your path and make them a part of your journey.

Routine became Ritual

Most of us have routines. But gratitude has the power to turn routines into rituals. They can become something grounding, meaningful, and energizing. 

For me, it starts with the mornings, filling the house with the aroma of coffee. Easing into the workday slowly, before cooking a real breakfast and heading outside for yoga. The whisper of wind through the trees, the silence of the mountains, the first deep breath of the day… those moments always remind me how lucky we are.

Daily hikes are crucial, too. No notifications, no rushing, just time to reset in nature. It’s where we practice the gratitude rituals Britt and I didn’t even realize we were building. We take that time to celebrate wins together, big or small, because as business owners, it’s easy to focus on what needs improvement instead of what’s going well. Naming the good stuff matters.

But honestly, the moments when gratitude helps me most are the hard ones. When something goes wrong, my default setting is pessimism. Pausing to acknowledge everything that we’ve done right helps me to reset, refocus, and keep moving forward. 

That’s the real shift: when routine becomes ritual, the day stops feeling like something you’re surviving, and starts feeling like an accomplishment you’ll celebrate when it’s over.

A Thanksgiving Challenge

Remote work becomes richer the moment you shift your perspective. So here’s your invitation for this week:

Choose one of the shifts you want to practice. Notice what changes. Notice what softens. Notice what expands. When things aren’t going to plan, slow things down and take a mental inventory of your wins and all you’ve got to be grateful for. 

Because gratitude isn’t just an emotion. It’s the mindset that makes this remote life feel like the life you were always meant to build.