I remember a long time ago sometimes, particularly amongst religious individuals, I, like perhaps anyone, was supposed to say grace: to say thanks for all the things I was grateful for. More than likely I viewed this as a waste of time, and perfunctorily thought of a few things that made sense to say, not things I was truly thankful for. Only now do I realize the importance of being thankful.

It is important in that we tend to focus on all the bad things that happen to us, which results in us constricting our mindset towards those things. In doing this we inadvertently distort reality in our mind such that we belief it is a hell because all we are seeing are the bad things in life. In saying grace, we bring ourselves closer to a more accurate picture of life, and more importantly think positive thoughts, which undo the negative ones and make us happier. People who say thanks every day, who think of the positive things are more likely to be happy, successful, healthy, be more social, etc. It's clearly a +EV move, and so here are some things I am thankful for:

1. My success (obv)

2. My family, who for so long I overlooked the importance of their unconditional love

3. My friends

4. The opportunities I've had, and that I now have

5. Most importantly, the ability to look within myself and see need for improvement, and then implement change.