Thank goodness for New Year’s resolutions, the one arena where self-improvement is emphasized over material worth.
Because most of the time, we tend to desire things that are even better than the things we already have.
We fail to value the things that we easily acquire. In fact, this is exactly why we are constantly searching for “better”—so that we can subconsciously pacify our ever present wants.
For example, many of us tend to regard items such as clean water or fresh clothing as basic necessities. We often to forget to consider countries in which such things are precious luxuries, just as valuable to the impoverished populace as fancy cars or heaps of money are to us.
   Our insatiable desires are present in the workplace too. As soon as people begin working, they may be content for a short period of time. However, this does not usually last long. Human instinct is envious by nature, and people will begin to crave the achievements and possessions of others better than themselves. They therefore strive for bigger goals, such as getting promotions or higher-paying jobs.
There are also a multitude of stories that begin with “I didn’t realize how much I loved…until it was gone.”
We may whine daily about picking up after our siblings or protest often about our parents’ requests. But if we do not see them for a while, then we often begin to feel empty. It is only then that we realize the worth of our loved ones, the people we had become desensitized to.
Unfortunately, once we have gained something, we eventually tend to begin taking things for granted. More ridiculously, not only do we take things we have for granted, but we also begin constantly complaining about them.
For instance, everyone has heard at least one or more of their peers complaining about their huge workloads or even just the daily struggle of getting out of bed for school. Most do not consciously think that there are so many people who would willingly sacrifice everything they owned for a free education, one of many things we do not think about.
From a cynical perspective, human nature is greedy and selfish in every way. We want, take and leave the things we love, but often are still often unsatisfied with what we earned. Once we achieve a small goal, we bask in the light of our personal glory for a moment and then continue to set even greater goals. Unfortunately this is how our society works: people inevitably continue to aim for higher positions and search for the best of everything.
Of course, we do not need to be giving thanks for the things that we have everyday, nor do we need to be incessantly optimistic and happy-go-lucky. We should simply realize that while we can improve and reward ourselves with nicer things, we should occasionally take a step back to take pride in the things we have and our accomplishments in life.