Happiness comes when we stop complaining about the troubles we have and offer thanks for all the troubles we don’t have.- Unknown

Stop complaining and give thanks! You’ve got problems.  I get that.  I have a multitude of them myself.  I try really hard not to complain about them.  Giving thanks for what I have is something I need to work on.

It’s really hard to be thankful when you’re looking at a big pile of problems, but that’s the time when you need it most.  When you’re thankful about the good things in your life, it doesn’t get rid of the problems, but it makes them more manageable.  That’s that really amazing thing about being thankful and gratitude, when you allow those things into your life, they’re like lights shining in the darkness.

I’m sure some of you are rolling your eyes and thinking I’m about to go into some big religious spiel.  Well you’re wrong.  Religion is a super personal thing, and I will not ever tell you what you should and should not believe.  For me personally some of my gratitude and thanks do come from a religious thought process.  But it doesn’t have to be that way for anybody else.  Just be thankful.  Look at what you do have and give thanks to the universe, your deity, or even yourself.

What? Give thanks to yourself?  Absolutely! You should absolutely be thankful for what you’ve done in your life and what you’ve accomplished.  Pride in yourself isn’t a bad thing.  So be thankful for yourself and what you’ve accomplished.  Don’t ignore the challenges and difficulties in your life, but don’t obsess over them either.  Stop complaining and give thanks for what you have and what you’ve done.  I promise you’ll be able to face everything else with a much lighter heart.