Thoughts on Gratitude

I've come to realize that as I experience more and grow that gratitude is a subject that I find myself thinking more often. I did not have a good understanding of it, and it is something I want to explore and grasp better. In my attempt do better understand it, I'm laying out a few things I believe to be true about it.

First, I believe that practicing gratitude is fundamental to our happiness. This is because Happiness, Reality, Expectations might share some relationship that resembles this:

Happiness = Reality - Expectations.

Lower our expectations and we'll be less disappointed. Higher it and we might find ourselves more disappointed. It also explains why it's so much easier to be joyous as a kid—things were newer and our expectations of certain things were much less. Often, we were figuring out what we even wanted.

Of course, the relationship between these three factors are probably not this simple. But I found time and time again that this usually works, and trying to ground my expectations indeed makes me happier.

It's gratitude that grounds our expectations and therefore leaves more room for us to find joy through the every day and through what we already have. It's inevitable that as we grow older, our expectations solidify. We see things and identify more patterns; we compare and compete, and end up building up our desires and expectations. Because of this, an effective way to lower expectations is to be intentional in its approach, which fundamentally involves giving gratitude.

Second, I used to think that gratitude is the result of a fulfillment of desires and needs. But the more I examine its role, I believe it can be much more. One way I saw this is when gratitude acts as the bedrock of resiliency that provides hope despite great difficulties in one's life.

Third, gratitude for one's identity generally triumphs others of its kind. It leads to an acceptance of oneself and forgiveness of yourself that is essential for your growth and acceptance of others.

Other important things that I feel is important to be mindful and thankful for is the people around you and your experiences of the world.