Gratitude’ is gaining a lot of popularity in recent years. More and more experts are encouraging their audience to embrace gratitude if they want to be happier in life.

But why is it that there is a NEED to teach gratitude in the first place?

The answer lies in the current state of the world.

Consider this report above that shows how people in the states are leading ahead when it comes to having a negative outlook in life. While some of the smaller countries are seeing a generally better ranking, the inhabitants of larger countries are generally suffering. The stress in life and the demand to do better than their peers are making it hard for people to look at the bright side.

With gratitude, you can learn to forget the bad and appreciate what’s already available to you.

It is clear that this chart above shows the general happiness of US adults and that the trend is going downwards. As life gets more ‘convenient’ with modern technology, happiness isn’t following suit, but is actually dropping instead!

And to make things worse… when people are unhappy, they start getting into bad habits that may cause even more problem for them or the society that they live in.

They get into bad habits like…

1. Waiting for a future instead of taking actions… An attitude governed by thoughts like “I’ll be happy when I…”

2. Going on a shopping spree hoping to use money to buy distractions for their pain

3. Staying home… and becoming anti-social

4. Complaining about every little thing in life!

5. Comparing themselves with the people around them

6. Succumb to bad habits like taking drugs, alcohol, and smoking.

7. Getting into unnecessary arguments and getting ticked off easily

And that’s just a small fraction of the problem!