In every moment of our lives, there are millions of things we could focus on. We can focus on the things that are happening right here, right now, or on what we want to create in the future, or we can put our focus back on the past. We can direct our focus on solving a big challenge or on appreciating the beauty of this moment, or on feeling sorry for ourselves about a disappointing experience. If we don’t consciously redirect our focus, the environment we’re in tends to make constant demands to get our attention.
Ask yourself: Which do you tend to focus on more—what you have, or what’s missing from your life? I’m sure you think about both sides of this coin, but if you had to look at your habitual thoughts, where do you tend to spend most of your time?
Even those of us who are in difficult situations have plenty in our lives that we can appreciate. Almost half the world or more than three billion people, live on less than $2.50 per day, which is a little more than $900 per year. The average drink at Starbucks is $3.25. If you can afford that, you’re spending more on one purchase of a cup of coffee than what half the planet has to live on in one day. That puts things in perspective, doesn’t it?
Rather than focusing on what we don’t have and begrudging those who are better off financially, perhaps we should acknowledge that there’s so much to be grateful for in our lives that has nothing to do with money. We can be grateful for our health, our friends, our opportunities, our minds, the fact that we get to drive on roads that we didn’t have to build, read books we didn’t have to take years to write, and tap into the internet that we didn’t have to create.
A pattern of appreciating what you have will create a new level of emotional well-being and wealth. And my guess is that if you’re reading this, you may be one of those people who already notices what you have. But the real question is, do you take time to deeply feel grateful in your mind, body, heart and soul? That’s where the joy and the gifts will be found. Not with just the intellectual appreciation or by the acquisition of another dollar, or another 10 million dollars.
