Monday, February 14, 2011

Sometimes, I Forget...

Do we really have to complain all the time?  [Pic]

When was the last time you complain?

For many, that won't be too long ago. Yesterday? An hour ago? As you are reading this article? Typically, we complain all the time and we never seem to run out of things to complain about. In doing so, we may miss out something potent: The power of gratitude.

At any one time, we have enough reasons to whine or to be thankful. The choice is ours. I may not have everything I want but I have chosen to appreciate much of what I have. The problem is...sometimes, I forget.

Millions are homeless and unemployed. [Pic]
I forget that...

- I have a job when 205 million are unemployed

- I have a roof over my head but more than 100 million are homeless,

- I can read and write while at least 1 billion out there are illiterate and women make up two-thirds of them,

- I have at least 3 meals a day when there are one billion people who have to endure constant hunger and are undernourished,

- I have access to clean toilets when 2.5 billion people struggle with basic sanitation and do not even have somewhere safe, private or hygienic to go to, and

- I live in a place with high per capita income (Singapore is ranked 3rd in the world) while 1.4 billion people are living in extreme poverty


Don't miss out the power of gratitude. [Pic]

My list goes on. I believe I have many more reasons to be grateful than to whine. I just have to remember that.

The power of gratitude gives you energy to fight your daily stress. It makes you feel rich instantly by realizing that you already have so much. Gratitude is contagious and the people around you stand to gain much, without you having to do more. Very often, gratitude is an act of giving a lot at very little or no cost. 

Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain
and most fools do. -
Benjamin Franklin
[Pic]

On the other hand, complaining is an act of momentous self-gratification. You feel good for a while but you soon feel as sick as before, if not worse. Not only you get nothing out of it, the people around you suffer too. Because of you, they are reminded on their real or imaginary plight. They start to complain too. Soon, you find yourself living in fumes of angry air.

Start to take steps to benefit from the power of gratitude. Make it a habit. One of the easy ways is to end your day by completing this sentence "I am thankful for...". Build up your list and see your real wealth grow. In time to come, you will find fewer and fewer reasons to whine.

Don't work so hard just to reach where you have set out to go. You may finally get there and realize that you have already missed out much of what you have along the way.

Be grateful. I am because you have taken time to read this.

You might also like to read:
You Are Not Happy Because...

"Only a stomach that rarely feels hungry scorns common things."  ~Horace~


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