The little things

Instead of being obsessed with getting what you don’t have, put your focus on truly and deeply enjoying and making use of all the good things you do have. Get in the habit of noticing and appreciating the little things in your life. In every direction you look, there is something for which to be thankful. The more you focus on gratitude, the more value you’ll see in your world. The more value you see, the more value you’ll be able to create in your own life and in the lives around you.

As I write this, there is a glass full of clean, cool water sitting on my desk. Though I drink a lot of water each day without even thinking about it, when I do stop to think about it I can find many reasons to be extremely thankful. When I want a glass of water, all I have to do is go to the faucet, turn it on, and the clean, clear, filtered water comes out, ready for me to drink. My ancestors of just a few hundred years ago had a much different experience. They had to spend much time and effort locating and securing a water supply for their daily living needs, and they could never be completely sure about the quality and safety of the water. Even the wealthiest kings and queens of five hundred years ago did not have the kind of access to clean, safe, plentiful water that most people living in industrialized countries have today.

The access to good, fresh, water is just one small example of something you can be genuinely thankful for when you get into the habit of gratitude. As you are reading this, you can most certainly spot some similar thing of value in your life, something that you normally take for granted, something that, with a little bit of reflection you can be grateful for. Challenge yourself to count your blessings in this way, and you’ll find your life becoming richer for it.