When we encounter people who radiate genuine happiness and contentment, it’s almost always rooted in gratitude. Their thankfulness for who they are, what they have, and the life they are creating shape their temperament. You can feel it in their presence. They exude a quiet confidence, a deep sense of satisfaction, and a zest for living.
People who carry this kind of appreciation cherish their blessings without wasting energy on what’s missing. They see their blessings as treasures that enrich their lives, focusing on what’s already good, meaningful, and abundant. Their joy grows not from having everything, but from valuing the gifts already in front of them.
Unfortunately, we live in a world that constantly bombards us with the latest fads, novelties, amenities and luxuries of our consumer-oriented society as though these are the keys to a fulfilling life. This can create a feeling of insufficiency and unhappiness for those who are not as well-off as others.
When opportunities are available to some but limited or denied to others, it’s natural for jealousy and resentment to surface. Those who can’t compete for the same symbols of success and prestige often feel left behind. And with the constant influence of media highlighting what others have, the divide between the affluent and the poor becomes much more obvious and real.
Too many people tie their sense of happiness, success, and fulfillment to what they own. And every skilled marketer understands this, which is why so many products are sold by promising the buyer joy, pride, and satisfaction. But this level of materialism pulls us off course when we genuinely aspire to appreciate the deeper, more meaningful gifts in life.
The heart of the problem is simple: many of us struggle with gratitude because we believe we’re missing something essential, something that would finally make us “complete.” That’s why it’s so important to understand the reason behind our gratitude or the WHY. Without recognizing that, we will always look to possessions for happiness instead of discovering the richer blessings already present in our lives.
We can begin with the gift of life. While this seems apparent, we have all have met people who do not treasure the gift of life until they are threatened by sickness or death. In might be said that we do not appreciate what this gift means until we are confronted with its potential loss. Taking our very existence for granted is the first step toward a lifestyle of ingratitude. When we overlook the reality that our being here is not something we created or earned, we inevitably begin to see everything we have as something we’re entitled to, which leads to feelings of emptiness.
Another blessing we do not cherish enough is our health. People who have endured illness, fought to heal, and finally recover will tell you how grateful they are for their renewed strength. Suddenly, everyday abilities once taken for granted feel like gifts.
When we shift our circumstances, hidden blessings come into full view. As the old saying goes, we don’t truly appreciate what we have until it’s gone. And nothing makes that more evident than the loss and return of our health.
The sting of loss feels especially sharp when a relationship ends or someone we love passes away. Too often, we take the people in our lives for granted, assuming their presence is permanent. Only when they’re gone do we recognize how little time, attention, or care we offered, depriving the relationship of its vital essentials.
In those moments, we see that our neglect wasn’t just oversight; it reflected an unspoken ingratitude for their place in our lives. And with that realization comes remorse, because no one wants to feel dismissed, ignored, or unappreciated, especially by those they love.
Fight Ingratitude by Noticing Your Blessings Daily
For these reasons and many more, a spirit of gratitude is a living testimony of one’s priorities. You can actually counteract the temptation to neglect or manifest ingratitude if you count your blessings every day. When you welcome each new day with gratitude, you will begin a pattern that sets the course for the day.
Grateful to be awake, alive and ready to discover a new day, will set the tone and tenor of your mood. When your senses and mind is alert and conscious of the world in which you live you become keenly aware of its impact. You have the power to choose how to react to the blessings and struggles that come your way. Once you understand that your gifts far outweigh your burdens your perspective changes and so too do all the interactions you have with others.
You can control your disposition by knowing how blessed you are, despite the challenges and burdens you encounter. When you make an honest and accurate appraisal of your life and focus on the gifts that bring you genuine joy, you naturally open space for gratefulness to grow. Hanging on to bitterness, resentment, entitlement or irritability causes you to be gripped by what you lack or feel has been withheld. That mindset breeds feelings of inadequacy or a constant longing for more.
Consider this: how many times have we lived or worked alongside someone whose constant refrain is a list of complaints: their hardships, their annoyances, their frustrations with life in general? Their steady stream of grievances becomes exhausting, even for the most patient or indifferent listener.
With that in mind, it’s important to reflect on our own attitudes. If we find ourselves frequently dissatisfied with the everyday challenges of life, it may be a sign that we need to shift our perspective from focusing on what’s wrong to noticing what is good, positive, and worth appreciating.
A phrase that has always resonated with me is, “I cried because I had no shoes until I saw a man who had no feet.” If we fall into the temptation to compare our lives with others, it does us well to see it from the vantage point of what we have instead of what we lack. Counting our blessings begins with our ability to recognize the genuine value of people whose presence in our lives has brought us in contact with the meaning of love, peace and fulfillment. Material possessions cannot and never will give us what heartfelt experiences do, the very ones that touch our hearts and souls.
This Thanksgiving we have the annual opportunity to reflect upon the many blessings we enjoy. Your list is your own, unique to yourself, but most importantly there is one commonality of every list, it is this: all of us have been given more than what we ever acquired or achieved on our own, and for that we can never cease to say, Thank You!
Happy Thanksgiving!
5 Steps to Growing Gratefulness
Step 1: Begin with a Prayer
Teach my heart to pause,
to notice,
to appreciate.
Let gratitude rise in me not only for the big miracles,
but for the quiet mercies and small joys
that whisper Your goodness.
When the world tells me I’m lacking,
remind me of Your abundance.
When comparison tries to steal my peace,
root me in appreciation of all I already have.
Fill my spirit with thankfulness,
so I may live with a grateful heart,
seeing beauty in the ordinary,
joy in the present,
and blessings in every season.
Amen.
Step 2: Replace Comparison with Appreciation
When you feel the urge to compare yourself with others, ask what do I already have that brings me joy, comfort, or purpose?
Step 3: Pause once a day and say “Thank You” out loud.
Speaking reinforces it and can rewire your emotional response to daily events.
Step 4: Notice the small things and appreciate them.
Train yourself to see what you typically overlook and your gratitude will grow.
Step 5: End the Day with a Gratitude Review
Before bed, list three things that were blessings today, even on hard days.