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The older I get, the more my values change. As a young professional, I longed for the days of raking in the big bucks, getting married, owning a home, and proving everyone wrong who doubted me.
Fast-forward through years of real-life experience and it’s easy to side with those who appear to ‘take it one day at a time.’ They know many things are worth living for and being proud of, but above all being grateful.
Gratitude can mean a myriad of things depending on your experiences and outlook. I see it as a way of appreciating what you have while pursuing a greater obligation.
With gratitude, you pay no attention to how far your peers are with their careers. Glorified things like trips and online appearances have no relevance because an honest life spilling over with humility most identifies with you. Gratitude is far from the envious lifestyle that threatens so many of their individual strengths, talents, and visions.
A healthy dose of gratitude is why you find no reason to give up on your dreams when they don’t work out at first or the timing is not right. Newsflash — there will never be a perfect moment in life. The time to strike is always now. Gratitude provides you with the tools you need to sculpt, mold, and build whatever it is you want for your future.
My gratitude has blessed me with the level of happiness that makes financial status nearly nonexistent. I understand that when household income reaches a threshold that covers basic needs (food, water, clothing, and shelter,) happiness can measure the same for a person well into the seven-figure salary. Anything more is a luxury and in many cases only complicates things or even leave you depressed.
My gratitude has shown me that despite subtle career moves, the road to completing my PhD in Organizational Leadership is only a short distance away. It’s the same gratitude the shifts thinking and understand that ‘age is just a number’ when it comes to learning. Gratitude raises our awareness and reminds of that development is a lifelong process and confirms that we will forever be students.
If you are to go anywhere in life, gratitude must be your default. It’s the baseline that you constantly have to refer to when things are great or inevitably low. You will see the difference, as you get older and go further, that gratitude is why you will never quit.
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