Don’t Take Things for Granted

With Thanksgiving coming, let’s remember once again how important it is to be grateful for what we have. Don’t be so busy with your life that you never stop and count your blessings. Don’t just want more and more without ever expressing your gratitude for what you already have.

I recently read You: The Owner’s Manual, a very good book on health. There is plenty of good advice there. But reading the book also made me realize one thing: there are so many things that could go wrong in our bodies. Your body has hundreds (if not thousands) of parts and if even one of them goes wrong, you will suffer. What if you couldn’t see or hear? What if your kidney didn’t do its job? Being healthy is a great blessing but we often take it for granted.

The same thing applies to practically every other aspects of our lives. A few days ago I had a power outage. There was no electricity which meant no computer, no Internet, no television, and even no lighting. The outage lasted for just a few hours but it made me realize how important electricity is to our modern lives. I took electricity for granted and only when it was gone did I feel how important it actually is.

I can continue on and on but the message is clear: don’t take things for granted. Be grateful. Even seemingly small things matter.

Photo by Jesse Kruger

10 Comments

  1. The small things are not really all that small they are the things we rely on to be there all the time so it is that much more jarring when they fail us. Thanks for the great reminder of this and have a happy thanksgiving.

  2. Quinn,
    Yes, we actually rely on those “small” things. Unfortunately, we might forget about them and no longer appreciate their existence.

  3. With the amazing stats of how many people get diabetes, heart disease, stroke, Alzheimer’s, and cancer, health isn’t something we’re entitled to, and I think it’s the perfect example to exercise an attitude of gratitude.

    Small things really do matter, and the thing I always remind myself, whenever things are going wrong, I just remember they can always be worse 🙂

  4. Very good point. It’s amazing that the simple act of acknowledging and remembering all those great things in life can do so much for you and your perspective on everything around you. I think this is something we should always keep in the front of our minds. Thanks for the reminder.

  5. J.D.,

    the thing I always remind myself, whenever things are going wrong, I just remember they can always be worse

    I often say that too to myself 🙂 It always works for me.

    Sibyl,
    The fact that it changes your perspective is perhaps the most important reason why you should be grateful. It makes your days positive.

  6. I have read a lot of stories, tips, quotes about life and living it to the fullest and this one stands out. Others say that one of the hardest questions in life is about “life” itself and how to have it to the full but if we think of it deeply it will only come down to one thing “choice”. Living life to the fullest is a choice. We live the way we want it if we chose to. Some of us are just complicating life. Great post. More power to you.

  7. Thankfully our bodies do an extremely great job of keeping all the working “parts” in order, IF you take the time to do and maintain these three things:

    – Drinking enough water (2/3rds of your body weight plus another 12oz for every 30min of physical labor is your daily intake of water).

    – Eating healthier (stay away from sugars and bad carbs)

    – Taking care of your mental health (keep your mind sharp and maintain healthy relationships)

    – Getting exercise regularly (this will also improve your mental health)

    If you do all those things, I’ve noticed your body does a great job of handling all the thousands of other things on it’s own!

  8. Jesse,
    I like the way you put it. Life is indeed about choice. You choose to live your best and then you make decisions along the way to make it happen.

    Jonathan,
    Thanks for the useful tips! They are specific but simple.

  9. hi there

    nice article !

    I think it’s important to develop that attittude of gratitude

    but the trouble is we live in a society thats always getting us to focuss on whats missing in our lives (cause their always trying to sell us stuff )

    we have to rise above this I guess!

  10. Peter,
    Exactly! That’s the problem in our society and as you said, we have to rise above it.

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