Do you spend a few minutes every day thinking about the things you’re thankful for? Most of us are so caught up in our busy lives figuring out what’s next. What don’t I have? What do I need or want? We are so fixated on ‘more’. Like Tupac said, we’re all in a state of ‘Gimme gimme gimme’. If you can not understand or appreciate the value of things you have or the people in your life - for good or for bad, you will not understand or appreciate the value of things you want. In that case, you will not achieve or obtain those things. If you do somehow manage to obtain some level of success without true appreciation, history shows this period of success will be temporary. The sad thing is, for most of us to truly appreciate what we have, we need to live without those things.

There are so many variables in this equation of success and happiness. I will briefly touch on one more. I read a post on social media the other day from a friend who was acknowledging the fact that they basically didn’t want an ounce of negativity in their life. I passionately agree with this friend. If you can’t start a dialogue, if you can’t move the needle forward, and all you can do is blame and think your solution is the right solution - then you are a problem. People like this will suck the energy out of you in the wrong places. Be grateful and be positive. If you can’t do those things, why would anyone else be grateful or positive for you? Create value, don’t be a part of the problem. And smile.

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