Rise to Wisdom - A Thankful Heart

Welcome to another episode of Rise to Wisdom. On this week's episode of Rise to Wisdom we will take a look at the topic: 'A Thankful Heart'.

Many of us are not content with many things in our lives. We see things that we do not have and then complain. We see something new at our neighbor’s house, and we feel envy from within. As the saying goes, “The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.” We seem to always want or need something that we do not have. There is always that feeling of discontent and frustration from not being able to do something or get something we do not have. 

But happiness cannot be found in the material things that we achieve in life. It is not from the achievements that we gain from our careers. Happiness can come every day if you learn to see the world with a thankful heart.

NEVER ENVY
One very important thing you need to get rid of is envy. Learn to be happy for other people’s success. We are all given our own blessings. You will get your fill in due time according to your hard work. It just so happens that your neighbors received theirs sooner. 

Learn to congratulate others for their success, and use their example to motivate you to aim for your own success. Tell yourself, “I want that for myself too, and I will work hard to get it.”

THINK OF OTHERS
If you think you have problems or you are unfortunate, think of others who have so much less than you. If you have family problems, think of those who never had a family at all to come home to. If you think you are poor and have so little, think of those who have nothing to eat and live in the streets. No matter how low you feel you are, there is always someone else out there who would love to trade places with you.

DON’T EXPECT TOO MUCH
Discontent is brought about by too many expectations. You may be aiming too high that you fail to see what you have now. It’s okay to have a goal and want things for yourself. But if you let your goals hinder you from seeing the good things that come your way, then you are totally missing the point. The point of having goals is to find happiness. If you miss the little things that can make you happy, then you’ve failed. Don’t look too far ahead. What you are looking for just might be right beside you.

COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS
Lastly, when you feel you are a failure because of the things that you do not have, change your way of thinking and begin to see the things you have that you can be thankful for. Simplify your life by simply saying “Thank you” for the littlest blessings. As you wake up each day, be thankful for another waking morning and that you have another day of life. Before and after eating, be thankful that you have something to eat because you know that there are others who don’t have anything at all. 

Be thankful for the people in your life because there are others who have no one to turn to. And at night, before you close your eyes, be thankful for surviving another day without any accidents or problems that others somewhere else in the world may be experiencing that very moment.

How does this resonate with you?