What Does it Mean to be Grateful?

“Be Content with What You Have, but Never Who You Are”

It is that time of the year, the holidays. During this time specifically, I think we go through the motions and state how grateful or blessed we are for our friends, family, and our prosperity. Yet, I think a lot of us throw the word grateful around without even diving into what it means or actually practicing it in our daily lives. Truly being grateful is something that can have such a positive effect on your life because it will really make you appreciate where you are at in your journey.

The Next Thing

As an entrepreneur who is always reaching for the next project or challenge, learning to be content and grateful for what I already have is something I have been working on and improving on in my life for a few years now. It is always a challenge for me, but the progress I have made has been really rewarding. A lot of us who aren’t content have what I call “When and then” thinking. When I accomplish X I will be happy. When I make this much money, save this much for retirement, live in this big of a house, or go on this vacation. The problem with that is there will always be another when and it will leave you always striving for the next thing. You have to learn how to be content with what you have right now. No when, no then, only right now.

Stop Comparing Yourself to Others

To start, anyone that lives in a first-world country should be grateful. Grateful for food, shelter, and medical treatments. These are the things so many people around the world pray for. The reason most people aren’t happy with what they currently have is that they compare it to what other people have. You have to stop doing that. Comparing your life with someone else’s life will always lead to discontentment. There will always be people who “appear” to be better off than you and seemingly living the perfect life. But be advised, we always compare the worst of what we know about ourselves to the best assumptions we make about others. Their life is never as perfect as your mind makes it out to be.

Practice Being Grateful

Being truly grateful and at peace with what you have has to be practiced on a regular basis. I personally do this by keeping a gratitude journal that I try and write in every day, but at least write in once a week. In this journal, I write everything I am grateful for. Even the little things. In fact, just last week I was grateful there would be no snow in Sedona for Thanksgiving. It’s these little things you have to show thanks for on a weekly basis to truly feel gratitude. Giving appreciation even for these small things will show you there is so much in the universe that is going your way, it makes it easier to deal with those things that don’t go your way.

So this holiday season as you sit around the table and say your thanks, make sure you really mean it. Be truly grateful for the life you have been given, the family and friends around you, and be content with what you have. This is the true key to happiness.

Until Next Time,

Ken