As I talk with people, I have discovered a disturbing trend in many. I don't think it started big; it just eventually grew that way. That trend is a lack of thankfulness for what we have.
It is so easy to look at what we don't have but wish we did. Maybe it's a dream car or house, or maybe it's a better job or some other missed opportunity. We can become so focused on those things we don't have that we completely ignore the things we do have.
Have you ever stopped to consider the fact that there are probably a few dozen people within a hundred-mile radius of you who would give anything to have the life you currently have? Maybe you aren't in your dream home, or maybe the home you have is a mess and needs cleaning, or maybe your significant other isn't always perfect like you need them to be...but you still have so much going for you! The issue comes when we take our eyes off all the blessings we have to focus on that one thing we feel we are missing.
It can be easy to allow that one thing we want to overwhelm our lives. Soon, we develop that feeling we can't be complete or happy without it. Advertisers spend thousands of dollars to make their products seem like the absolute key to happiness if you just buy them. Yet if we just stop long enough to focus on the things we do have, we'll often find ourselves more blessed than we acknowledge.
Think of three things you are thankful for today in your life. Ready? Go!
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Did it take you a minute, or did those things jump to mind? If they were easy to think of, you're doing well. If it took you a minute, keep at it. Don't give up until you get those three. If you did that every single day but forced yourself to think of new things every time, your entire mindset could shift into a new gear that propelled you forward.
We could all be happier, and life could be better for all of us. The sad thing is that some people could live to be two hundred years old, getting something brand new every day, yet still be miserable.
Do you have a blessed life? Legendary investor Warren Buffett suggests a thought experiment.
Suppose that each of the 8 billion people on Earth are now marbles. All those marbles are placed into a massive jar. You have a choice to put your marble in the jar or not. If you put your marble in the jar and shake the jar, you then must choose a marble and live that life instead.
Would you put your marble in the jar? If not, you live a blessed life.
As we enter this season of thankfulness, take just a moment to appreciate all the good things in your life. Look at how far you've come since this time last year! And if you haven't gone as far as you'd like, start setting some goals for next year.
Be thankful and be amazing! And thank you for spending some time with me today by reading this!
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