Giving Thanks…

..and the art of undervaluing what you have.

“Perhaps you are overvaluing what you don’t have and undervaluing what you do.”

This was a great quote that came across my screen just as I was about to begin this week’s blog.

Sometimes it’s hard to feel thankful.  Sometimes it feels near impossible.

Sure, we’ve got food in our fridge and a roof over our heads.  We have jobs, however unpleasant at times they still pay the bills.  We can be thankful for all of that, and we should.

But let’s be honest.  We’re humans, emotional beings.  When someone takes advantage of us, or when we feel wronged somehow, it’s hard to feel thankful. We have an array of other feelings: annoyed, bothered, cross, displeased, exasperated, frustrated… I could probably go through the entire alphabet.

This happens when we put too much emphasis on what we don’t have, and not enough emphasis on what we do have.

I interact with hundreds of people every day.  And, as we get closer to the holidays the pseudo “want and need” are much more prevalent.

Here’s an example a friend shared with me the other day…

A customer asked my friend about the return of a holiday cookie that she “looooovvveeess and must have”.  My friend checked the order status and let the woman know that they wouldn’t be carrying that cookie this year, it had been discontinued.  The woman was nearly in tears.  “But it’s my favorite cookie, how could I have Christmas without it??”

Now, mind you, as my friend mimicked the woman’s response to me, these weren’t tears of nostalgic sadness of lost memories… this was a melodramatic, award winning display of entitlement.  “How could you do this to me?!”

Honey, it’s a cookie.  It was introduced only a few years ago and likely didn’t sell as well as others and was thus given the axe this year.  It happens.  All the time.

This is the type of response I see all too often in my work.  And I’ll admit, I’ve been miffed when I can no longer enjoy a favorite menu item at a restaurant or my favorite style of jeans has been “updated” and now only fits waif-like young girls who have not borne children.

The quote at the beginning said it best.  We undervalue what we already have and overvalue what we don’t have (especially if the influencers tell us we must have it in order to sit at the cool kids’ table).