The Power of Gratitude
Why are those with money still depressed while others who don’t have much are happy?
BEING CONTENT
The Dalai Lama says there are two ways to reach contentment. One is to acquire everything you want and desire: an expensive house, nice car, expensive clothes, gourmet foods, perfect mate, exotic trips, and a perfectly toned body—the list can never end. The main issue with this is that this way of “happiness” will never leave you content as these methods of instant gratification are deeply rooted signs of overcorrecting our insecurities. We all know that there are points of unhappiness from us being “bored” from our acquired materials or experiences and wanting something bigger, and better—what society says is “in.”
The second and more reliable approach to contentment is to want and feel grateful for what we already have. When we have a strong sense of contentment, it doesn’t matter whether we obtain the object or experience we desire or not. We would be content either way.
CHOOSING WHAT WE ALLOW INTO OUR MINDS
Social media, news outlets, and gossip are our main sources of information these days. What we put in our minds is important, but how we process and choose what to do with this information is important to our mental health.
If we aren’t aware yet, the truth is that a handful of the information that becomes viral is news of fear, ads, and gossip—making the masses afraid of what is happening, making us perceive that we deserve something new, or getting into peoples’ lives who we don’t have a connection to. We have to ask ourselves if this “news” is beneficial to our growth.
Many of us prime our day by choosing to look at our devices to see “news.” Have you ever questioned how you feel after reading or watching this? Does it help you with your happiness for the day or does it give you sadness or anxiety? We must be aware of how we react and feel from what we put into our minds.
COMPARING OUR LIVES TO OTHERS
The main reason many of us don’t feel content with our current lives is that we compare ourselves to others. We compare ourselves in two different ways:
1. We see if we are doing “better” than others.
2. We see what others have that we don’t.
Both comparisons are detrimental to our mental health as we aren’t focusing on what’s really important—comparing ourselves to our yesterday selves.
Dave Ramsey quoted, “We buy things we don’t need with money we don’t have to impress people we don’t like.” If you really process this quote and look inward, it leaves a bad taste in your mouth. Some of us are aware we do this—many aren’t.
When we compare ourselves to others who have more than us, it creates a sense of fear, shame, and disapproval within our minds. We question why we don’t have what others have and start believing their lives are better than ours—these are lies we tell ourselves.
Some of us even go the opposite direction when we feel down by comparing our lives to others who have less than us—looking at others’ mishaps, lack of possessions, and lack of experiences to make us feel better about ourselves.
Both directions of comparing are just ways we cope with the root of the problem—we are not happy and content with our current selves.
GRATITUDE AND ITS POWER
The best way to reach contentment is to want and feel grateful for what we already have. Studies show that if we express gratitude, it raises our happiness by 25%. When we take a breath and step back, our heartfelt thankfulness for our blessings slows us down and fills us up. This is a time to count our blessings—all the things we might have overlooked, forgotten, or taken for granted—instead of complaining about what we believe we want or need. This exercise of gratitude helps us stay present in the moment—keeping our sense of self-awareness.
NEXT STEPS: TRY THIS
When you wake up every morning, grab your journal or phone and write down 5 things you are grateful for—people, places, things that make you feel complete, validated, comforted, and joyful. After you’ve made your list, meditate and process your appreciation for each item and visualize anything you’ve taken for granted as these things may go away at any time—materials, experiences, people, and even pets that if you didn’t have would leave your life less meaningful.
As you practice this daily morning exercise, notice that you’re emotional well-being is changing as you start priming your day with gratitude rather than fear. Your happiness in the things that you already have is a true blessing to hold on to.
If we take the time to process what we are chasing in life, we realize that we are chasing one significant word—HAPPINESS.
Happiness doesn’t come from material possessions or wealth, it comes from a selfless purpose to use our skills and gifts to bring joy to others while being validated, accepted, and loved by people around us.
Let’s choose a heart full of gratitude for what we have because what we have can instantly go away.
- Lloyd Sarte
