26th November 2024
We all suffer from the “Taking for granted syndrome”: our tendency to switch off the value of the good things in our lives. We often fail to appreciate the full value of our health, of the people we love, of our peace, freedom and prosperity, the opportunities presented to us, or even the very fact that we are alive. We usually do learn the value of these things when they’re taken away from us.
Taking things for granted is a universal experience. Most of us, at some point, have failed to appreciate the significance of what we have until it’s gone.
One of the core reasons we tend to take things for granted is due to a psychological process known as ‘Hedonic adaptation’ which is the tendency of humans to return to a baseline level of happiness regardless of positive or negative events.
When we initially acquire something, we value—a new car, a promotion, or even a romantic relationship—it tends to bring us a surge of happiness. However, over time, the excitement diminishes as we grow accustomed to the new situation.
This adaptation is a coping mechanism that allows us to maintain emotional equilibrium. But it also has a downside: when we adapt to positive circumstances, we stop feeling the same level of joy we once did. This leads us to inadvertently take these positive aspects of our lives for granted.
The “new normal” quickly replaces the initial euphoria, making us less inclined to appreciate what we have.
The only way to transcend the ‘taking for granted syndrome’ is by appreciation & gratitude.
I try to do this by doing an “appreciation exercise” in which I write a number of sentences beginning with phrases like “I’m glad I’m…,” ‘I’m grateful for…,” “I am fortunate because…”
Once I have seven or eight of these sentences, they become my “appreciation list,” which I put up in a place where I can read it every day.
I spend at least five minutes each day reading through the list & digesting the meaning of the sentences.
It makes me aware of “blessings” which otherwise I would normally take for granted and it generates a constant sense of gratitude which becomes the basis of an overall sense of enhanced well-being.
Don’t take things for granted, appreciate everyone & everything, be grateful & stay blessed forever.