Gratefulness and Joy – From Abundance or Adversity?
If abundance potentially inhibits gratefulness and happiness, should prosperous people sell all their possessions and give away all their conveniences so they can become grateful and happy?
If abundance potentially inhibits gratefulness and happiness, should prosperous people sell all their possessions and give away all their conveniences so they can become grateful and happy?
If you’re like many people, your first reaction might be to impress by talking about yourself. You might think a little name dropping, references to your achievements, anecdotal mention of your capabilities, or use of a sophisticated vocabulary would be the way to go. You wouldn’t think self-deprecation and humility would be most appropriate if you were hoping to impress someone.
There are few other attributes that are so dependent on context. Many attributes, like honesty, courage, passion, and having a can-do attitude, are not as dependent on context. With few exceptions, they are considered a virtue. Patience, however, can be a liability or an asset depending on the circumstances.
If you’ve not done so, give some thought to how you make decisions. What typically leads to good outcomes? Bad outcomes? What lessons have you learned from past decisions and how have you incorporated them into your current decision making? Compare your list of lessons learned to the decision-making best practices in my article.
Unless you are comfortably retired, you probably work really hard every day which keeps you so busy that just getting through the day is a big accomplishment. But is it really? Is getting through the day, regardless of what you do, truly satisfying and meaningful? Is it really the best use of your time and energy?