I think we all have to deal with becoming too comfortable and comfort can be demotivating. If I am perfectly happy working 8 hours and coming home to watch TV for 4 hours and then go to bed every single night. That’s comfort, not thankfulness.

Someone who truly appreciates their gifts and abilities would be more likely to use them. If you don’t use them you’ll lose them. The old saying “use it or lose it” comes to mind.

An example from my own life. Age feels like it is creeping up on me and I’m not able to run as quickly and effortlessly as I could when I was 20. I don’t seem to have the same energy as when I was young either. If I was comfortable with the decline, I’d just let it go. Let my health and abilities I do have slowly decline to where I might one day have trouble climbing stairs.

No, instead I choose to appreciate the health I do have by making time for excercize several times a week.

I think about this a lot myself. Just this Thanksgiving, I was with the family, and I was thinking about how lucky I am to have a great family. All families have drama, and mine is no exception. But our drama pales in comparison to others’.

It’s great to be able to reflect on things like this, and actually be thankful.

Do you think that being thankful can be demotivating at all? I was just thinking that, after reading your post. If someone is always mindful of what they have, and what they’ve accomplished, can it make them gunshy about pulling the trigger and accomplishing more?