Seneca: Make yourself as grateful as you can. Gratitude…

Gratitude is more than polite language after someone does us a favor. It is an attentional habit: the ability to see what is supporting us before we rush past it. Even an ordinary day contains things that did not have to be available—clean water, a useful tool, a friendly message, a body that carries you through the morning, or the effort of people whose work you rarely notice. Recognizing them does not erase hardship. It keeps hardship from becoming the whole picture. Try a specific practice today. Before beginning work, name three concrete things that make the day possible. Thank one person directly, especially for a small act that could easily go unseen. Then notice the effect on your own posture. Appreciation often makes us less entitled, more generous, and more able to enjoy what is already here. In that way, gratitude improves both the receiver and the person who gives it.