Why Gratitude Matters

If you are someone who has had trouble finding direction in life, then this piece will probably inspire you, or perhaps give you an “aha” moment.

Over the past two years, if there is one thing I have mastered, it is resilience. And, if there is one thing I am 100% aware of, but have often lost sight of, it is gratitude. Fortunately, I am glad gratitude is something I now never forget about. Not only do I have so much to be grateful for, including in the present moment, but here is proof — GRATITUDE BRINGS MORE.

Before I go on about my various personal experiences, I am going to reveal some proof here:

Back in 2017, when she spoke to the graduating class at Skidmore College, media mogul Oprah Winfrey said, “I practice being grateful. And a lot of people say, ‘Oh Oprah, that’s easy for you ’cause you got everything!’ On the contrary, Winfrey then argued her point, “I got everything because I practiced being grateful.”

Ironically enough, 2017 was the year I also graduated, and earned my bachelor’s degree. I was twenty-two years old, and going on twenty-three. Looking back, I realize my biggest mistake was NOT being grateful. I would not consider my mistake as a regret, because mistakes are what help us grow, and evolve in the end.

However, although I had graduated in the summer of 2017, I still was not satisfied. I was scared and worried about EVERYTHING. I was scared about not getting a job or internship right away. If you take out the summer months of May until August, it took me a solid six months until I earned my very first internship. Before getting an internship, I got plenty of job and internship rejections. So, you can understand my frustration there. During those nine months, rather than focusing on the things I did have (e.g. my family, friends, a beautiful roof over my head, flexible schedule, getting better at the gym), I was focusing on the things I did not have (e.g. employment, financial independence, not living in the USA anymore, a good dad, etc.). And, let me tell you, that made things much worse.

As you have all probably noticed, life is not stable. At a point in time, life teaches you that things will not always go as planned, or as you’d hoped they would be. Temporarily, this realization indeed sucks but, trust me, it does not sustain. In the long-run, everything else in the end turns out more than okay before you know it. I did not notice this shortly before I did my first internship. I was at a cry for help, and did not know if I could go continue on with life. But, my resilience told me I was better and stronger than the thoughts of contemplating suicide, or not caring about living anymore.

I believe my wake-up call was when a friend of mine told me, “Let your heart discover what it is you truly want to do.” For a moment, I was confused until I picked up the pieces, and truly noticed. To put her statement into my own words, I told myself, “Enjoy the things you are doing now until you gather some work or internship experience. In the meantime, not only enjoy but be grateful for what you have around you regardless, because you never know what is going to happen the next day. And, when you do that, you’ll discover the missing piece of the puzzle (which is discovering what I want to do).”

Once I started to gradually practice this, things were slowly starting to get better over time. Actually, much better. At the age of twenty-four, things were wonderful. Now that I am twenty-five, I am glad to say that things are tremendously better than they were then.

Sure, like everybody else, there are days when I have my ups and downs. The good news is I do not let “bad” or imperfect days get in the way of me. Even if your day does not go as you’d hoped it would be, gratitude is there for you no matter what. I am going to stress this point one more time — GRATITUDE IS ONE OF YOUR BEST FRIENDS. I am adamant to admit that it is one of my best friends, and I am so lucky for it. My gratitude is what helps me to keep building my character, improve my emotional intelligence, be optimistic around others (and not just with myself!), and be more confident. And, most importantly, it is what keeps giving me a better life everyday.

If you want to start with tips on how to practice gratitude more often, I suggest you start with a gratitude journal. If you love writing, like I do, then writing your gratitudes is something I suggest you take advantage of.