Thankful

“Be thankful for what you have; you’ll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don’t have, you will never, ever have enough.”
Oprah Winfrey

You get what you are thinking about. This is because you see what you expect to see, and what you see (how you perceive the situation) determines your actions. You get what you expect to get. Most of us are focused on needing to acquire something we don’t yet have. We think we need it in order to be happy so consequently we expect to be not happy until we get it. Since we see that what we already have is inadequate, since we are missing this one special thing, we end up beleiving that we can’t be happy right now. We effectively put our lives on hold until we can get the thing that we beleive will finally make us happy.

If we concentrate on what we don’t have, we will never have enough. We will be perpetually dissatisfied with our lives. because something will always be missing. We are so distracted by focusing on the one (or few) things that we don’t have yet, that we are blinded to all the things that we already have. We can’t see the blessings all around us. And if we can’t see them, we can’t be thankful for them.

The only way to gain true happiness is to be thankful for what you already have. It is important to recognize the distinction between needing more and wanting more. The truth is that you don’t need anything in order to make you happy, although there are many things that would be welcomed. You already have enough, and when you realize that, you will be grateful for it. You will be aware of all the multitude of blessings all around you, and be filled with joy, love, and gratitude.