Gratitude as an Antidote to Suffering

The power of oppenness and acceptance.

Here's a question that might make you uncomfortable: When was the last time you let yourself feel genuinely good without feeling guilty about it?

I find it tragic how many successful people feel bad about feeling good. You might be in this camp too, though you probably haven't noticed it. It's like a background program running on your computer - invisible until you go looking for it.

For many high achievers, the idea that you can feel good for free seems absurd. We believe we have to earn it. Work hard. Achieve something. Only then can we justify feeling good.

Even worse, many of us secretly believe that if we feel satisfied with where we are, we'll lose our drive to grow. So we keep ourselves in a constant state of mild dissatisfaction, using our negative feelings as fuel.

I know this trap well because I lived in it. I never felt like I deserved to feel good - I was always suffering under the weight of negative feelings to motivate my growth. When people talked about gratitude practices,…