The Hidden Gifts We Overlook: Giving Thanks for Health, Freedom, and Solo Travel

As many of us gather this week around tables filled with food, family, and familiar traditions, many of us will go through the motions of gratitude. We’ll say “thank you” for loved ones, careers, and the opportunity to rest with time off surrounding "the holidays." But in the quiet moments between the clinking of glasses and the laughter, I want to invite you to reflect on the hidden gifts we too often take for granted—especially as women, and especially this time of year.

I’m Joy Huber—stage 4 cancer survivor, solo travel coach, professional speaker, and founder of TravelWithJoyTV. This Thanksgiving, I’m overwhelmed with gratitude for three things: this beautiful life I've created, my health, and my freedom to explore often traveling solo doing things on my own terms.

Not so long ago, those weren’t guarantees. They were dreams that felt far away.

A Life Reclaimed: Gratitude from a Survivor

In 2010, when I was 33, I was diagnosed with stage 4 non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. The cancer had already spread to my bones and major organs. My life changed drastically overnight.

I went from feeling healthy and energized to facing chemo. which began just a few weeks after I'd been diagnosed. I also suddenly felt such uncertainty about what my future would look like, and I went into survival mode. And through that journey, I gained a new lens on life—one that sees every healthy day as a gift, not a given.

I faced a recent awful threat to my health this Fall, when a "routine" mammogram turned into repeated callbacks for additional screenings with ultrasound and even biopsies. Everything turned out ok thankfully, but the pure panic I felt for weeks reminded me of how quickly our health can change. And how it should not be assumed. We're all a heart attack, car accident, or diagnosis away from a very different life as I know all too well.

So, while others may give thanks this week for things like job promotions or turkey dinners, I give thanks for the ability to wake up, take a deep breath, and feel growing strength in my body. I’m grateful for the science that saved my life, and the joy I’ve been able to find on the other side of something so dark.

We Don’t Always Realize What We Have… Until It’s Threatened

Too often, we wait for life to knock us down before we realize what we had. Then we feel deep regret when it's gone that we didn't act on or utilize what we were so blessed with!  

The ability to walk a trail. To navigate a new city. To hear phenomenal live music coming out of every single honky tonk in downtown Nashville or sip coffee alone outside a delicious breakfast spot in Vancouver, Washington gazing at the riverfront. I had both of those experiences traveling in 2025. And I recognize that these are privileges, not promises. This Thanksgiving, I encourage you to notice all the freedoms you may be overlooking:

• The ability to make your own decisions
• The option to plan a solo trip that’s entirely yours
• The freedom to move about exploring your interests
• The strength and health that supports your independence

There are women around the world who don't have these choices. But hopefully you do—and it's time to be grateful for them. And it's time to act on them.

Why Solo Travel is the Ultimate Expression of Gratitude

Solo travel, to me, is more than just seeing beautiful places. It’s a way to:

• Celebrate being alive
• Connect with your inner self
• Truly experience a place through your own eyes
• Return home refreshed and even transformed

When you step outside your comfort zone and go on that solo adventure (even if it’s just a weekend getaway), you’re saying: I’m grateful for this one life I’ve been given, and I intend to live it fully.

How You Can Begin—Even During the Busy Holiday Season

You may be thinking, “That sounds great, but life is hectic. I have responsibilities. The holidays are expensive.” I get it. I’ve been there.

But here’s what I want you to know: Solo travel doesn’t require a passport finding the perfect timing. It starts with intention.

Here are a few ways to begin:

• Read through my free blog for ideas, encouragement, and destination inspiration
• Sign up for my free newsletter to get valuable travel tips and helpful mindset shifts delivered straight to your inbox
• Download my affordable solo travel guide packed with secrets you need to know to make your first - or next - trip stress-free and safe
• Book a private coaching session if you need time with me that's wholly devoted to you. We'll discuss your travel experience along with your experience in solo travel or lack of. Together we'll create a personalized plan that’s realistic and exciting tailored to your exact needs. Life doesn't wait, and this session has given many women the confidence and encouragement to go from fear to fun!

Let Gratitude Lead You Into 2026

Gratitude isn’t just a warm feeling—it’s rocket fuel for change. It’s what helped me decide not just to survive, but to live more fully than ever before. My gratitude looked like this: "I'm so thankful I beat stage 4 cancer. Now I have to get busy living a fulfilling life vs. waiting while life passes me by."  My main travel used to be for work speaking delivering all-day seminars. I'd look wistfully at the room service trays outside hotel room doors as I hustled down the hallway to go to work and set up my seminar room. Now I laugh as I linger in my room with my room service remembering these days I used to dream of, and now they're reality.

If you’re reading this, you likely have some of the things we too often overlook: time, choice, health, and curiosity. What if your next step was to honor those things not just in thought, but in action?

Maybe this time next year, you’ll be giving thanks from a quiet cabin you booked just for yourself. Or journaling from a solo trip you never thought you’d take.

Whatever it looks like, let this Thanksgiving be the moment you stop waiting and start planning.

🎤 And if you’re part of a group or organization who has speakers in person or virtually, I’d love to speak to you! Book me to speak at: TravelWithJoyTV.com/speaking

Gratitude is powerful. But gratitude paired with action? That’s true transformation.

Happy Thanksgiving!

© 2025 Joy Huber. All rights reserved.

This blog and all content herein is the intellectual property of Joy Huber and Travel With Joy TV. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, please contact: joy@TravelWithJoyTV.com.

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