A study backs this up. I have often spoken about how being grateful has helped me to focus on the positive things in life. I have learned that when I face things I can’t change, I have to accept and feel gratitude for the positive things in the world. This has helped me in so many ways and made my daily life improve with age.
I have often thought that life is a process of giving birth to the kind of person you wish to be. We all face challenges in life, but how we respond to those challenges determines who we are as a person. Sometimes it can feel frustrating when you do what seems to be “the right” thing and those who are selfish and mean seem to get ahead. However, we often see in the long term that those are not the happiest people in the world. The happiest people seem to be the ones who feel good about who they are because of who they are, not because they have an external job, reward, or experience that gives them a passing sense of pleasure.
Don’t get me wrong, nothing is wrong with pleasure. I have learned in life that to be happy I have to balance everything, not just focus on one aspect like a job, relationship, or my physical well-being. It is kind of fun actually. Every day I get to find ways to keep balanced internally and find ways to be kind and compassionate to others. You have many opportunities in life to leave the world better than you found it.
When you think about it, our existence is so improbable that we have to be grateful to just be alive. Maybe we suffer, maybe we die before we need to, but that’s OK if our life helped improve the world. I think the saddest life is one in which the opportunity to love and be kind wasn’t exercised.