10 Things To Not Take For Granted
IMPORTANCE OF GRATITUDE
Gratitude is by definition, the quality of being thankful and sincerely appreciative of receiving a benefit from someone or something. It is a non-selfish act of appreciation, where you are focusing on what you have in life, instead of diverting your attention to what you don't have. You focus on abundance instead of scarcity.
Many studies have found a link between people who regularly express gratitude and living a happier and more satisfactory life. Gratitude can be such a small and simple act, however when we choose to intentionally practise expressing gratitude for the things we have, it can have drastic changes on our life, ranging from our personal and work life to our relationships, health and our general attitude towards living. Gratitude shifts your perspective on life, which as a result, can completely change around your life.
"Gratitude turns what we have into enough"
BENEFITS OF GRATITUDE
Research is continually proving that those who express gratitude, gain a lot of benefits from doing so. Some of these benefits include:
An improved mood and being generally more happy and satisfied with life
Having a more optimistic outlook on life
Having more deeper and meaningful relationships
Being able to deal better with negativity and setbacks
Remembering events more vividly
Better athletic performance
WHAT NOT TO TAKE FOR GRANTED
YOUR HEALTH
When I say to not take your health for granted, I mean to not take for granted both your mental and physical health. If you are in good mental shape, meaning that you can think clearly, speak well, have a bold imagination and you can make decisions on your own through your own judgements, that is amazing already on its own. While we all are born with a brain, not all of us are fortunate enough to have a good working brain, so if you have one, use it; Don't take it for granted. Do something with that amazing brain you have; it is the best asset you have, so grow and develop it.
As for your physical health, If you are in good physical condition, where you can walk, run, jump, move on your own and have control over your muscle movements, that is also something that many of us take for granted on a daily basis. Don't, because as you get older many of your previously effortless and agile movements and muscle coordination will begin to falter and not be as smooth as before. So use your body and take care of it while you are young, to keep it in the best shape for when you are older.
You only get one brain and one body, so take care of them.
FAMILY AND GOOD FRIENDS
If you get along well with your family and have strong bonds with them, make sure you keep strengthening them. Poor family relationships are becoming more and more frequent, with many families experiencing a lack of love, cooperation and the necessary "family" bond, which results in more divorces and breakups.
The same can be said for your friends; If you want good friendships that bring value and benefit to your life, you have to input time and effort into them; nothing will just happen by itself. This is why you have to make sure you appreciate your friends and tell them that frequently. The more often you do, the stronger that bond will get and the more satisfaction you will get out of that relationship; more trust, honesty and integrity - All things which we want.
YOUR NATIVE SKILLS AND TALENTS
Everybody is naturally good at something. We all are, and some of us identify our strengths sooner in life, which gives those people more time to work on them and become even better at doing them. You can not to be a professional at all things in life and excel in every single aspect all the time, but finding what you are good at is the first step to take towards reaching your full potential.
What sets apart a regular individual from a "Superman" individual full of success, is their ability to recognize their strengths and then intentionally choose to work and grow them.
Use your strengths to your advantage, because while we may not all be good at the same things, all skills and talents are in some way useful in life. So be grateful for your natural competencies, work on them and don take them for granted because there is always at last someone out there in the world who would love to know how to do the skill or have the talent that you have.
YOUR TIME
Even though we all know this, not many of us like to admit it. Our time on earth is finite and limited, which is why it is so important how we choose to spend our time. When you are younger, time seems to stretch on forever and you would rather skip ahead in time than live in the moment. However, as adults usually say, time really does fly as you get older, so you have to be really intentional as to how you chose to spend your time because while you can get more money, resources and friends, you can never get more time back.
TECHNOLOGY THAT WORKS
Having at least one piece of working technology is taken as a complete no brainer in today’s developed world where you are seen as “underprivileged” if you only have a phone and no computer, or other electronic devices to go with it. This idea and perspective is completely false, as having access to at least one piece of functioning technology - no matter its brand, age or reputation - is already a huge advantage. Many people in today’s world dream of having the luxury of owning technology, but they can’t afford it or have to share a device with a large number of other family members.
Technology is amazing when used correctly and with good intent, and it can bring so many benefits to those who have access to it. However just because we are living in the digital age where it is a norm to change your perfectly good phone every year for a new one and keep updating your gadgets whenever a new one comes out, that is not an excuse to forget the devices we currently have and take them for granted.
Only when your devices stop working and you don't have any working ones, is the time when you realize how much convenience and value technology brings to you.
MONEY
While you can always make or earn more money in life, it does not mean that having money should become something you take for granted. The ability to pay for yourself and spend money on others, such as your family and friends, is a luxury. Money can be made quicker than ever today, but it can also be lost or wasted just as quickly. There are plenty of useless incentives out here that pressure and bribe us to purchase useless junk, but many of us still buy it. To earn money takes effort and work, so if you have money right now - no matter what amount - treat it fairly and take care of it, because money is always useful at some point when it’s needed.
THE OPPORTUNITY OF CHOICE AND DECISIONS
This is another complete no brainer in today’s developed society, but having the freedom of choice and the freedom to live life the way you want to, are such grand ideas that they are far too big and important to take them for granted.
Having the option to choose what you want to wear, eat, live, do and think is the largest form of freedom. No one likes the idea of living their life by someone else's design and standards because we are all so different and individual as individuals.
Use this idea to your advantage, by choosing and building piece by piece the life you want; you are the creator of it. It is up to you how you choose to live it, so make sure you design it so that you find enjoyment and pleasure in living it, otherwise, what’s the point? While you may not start with ideal choices and complete freedom if you are under the care of your parents, as time passes, you gain more freedom of choice and more independence that allows you to design the life you want.
BASIC RESOURCES
Having resources such as water for drinking and washing, a roof above your head, money, social company and good food supply, are all often taken for granted in the modern world, but in reality, they are luxuries that many can only dream of having.
It is estimated that worldwide up to 150 million people are homeless and then about 690 million people are undernourished, based on the Action Against Hunger organization. These are luxuries that form the foundations of our living and we greatly rely on a daily basis, which is why if they would all of a sudden go missing, we would be the first to notice.
Be thankful for these little opportunities that make your life a great deal easier and enable you to live it to your best abilities.
GOING OUTSIDE INTO NATURE
People living in countries and cities with extremely bad air pollution have significantly elevated risks of dying, especially in developing countries where good medical care is limited. In 2017 alone, 5 million people worldwide died to air pollution. Besides that, regular exposure to air pollutants encourages the development of several medical conditions and diseases such as heart disease, stroke, various respiratory conditions and certain respiratory cancers.
If you are fortunate enough to live in a country or town with clean air and a clean outdoor environment, take advantage of that. Go spend time outside in the sunshine or simply just spend time in fresh air. It does you more good than you might at first believe.
With more of our days being spent inside workspaces and commuting, we have to make it a priority to spend time outside. To make the experience even better, invite along some friends or involve some exercise that will do good for both your mental and physical health.
YOUR LIFE
As much of a cliche as this may sound, but the opportunity to be able to be alive and live a life is absolutely incredible. In my view, life is like a giant opportunity to live to our fullest potential, learn things, meet people, travel to new places, see sights that inspire us, challenge ourselves, and experience things that are simply only available to those who are alive. All the opportunities you get in life - no matter how small or coincidental - happened to us for a reason and let us take advantage of them.
Treat life as an opportunity and a challenge with which you exceed the expectations of others and yourself, and you will see yourself grow. Life is meant to be an opportunity to discover yourself, others, and the world in which you live in. Living in fear and doubt gets you nowhere and just ends up being a lost opportunity for what could have been an amazing experience.
It is up to you how you spend your life.
