Striving towards Excellence

-Karthik Gurumurthy

Are you grateful for the life that you have? Or do you take things for granted? Maybe you haven’t thought about it for a while. Did you ever fail to appreciate someone you care about? Was that because you were too busy putting out fires or focusing on other things? Or perhaps you assumed they’d just hang around forever.

The problem is, when you take people or things for granted, you put them in jeopardy. It’s not enough to make up for neglect after they’ve slipped away. It’s important to be grateful every day for the wonderful things in your life. Think of this as a wake-up call.

What Do You Take for Granted?

Parents. You have parents who offer their unconditional love. They’ve given a lot of themselves to ensure that you have a better life. Show some gratitude. If you’re not one already, you’ll probably be a parent one day.

Country we live in. We can share our thought process openly and have the choice and freedom which you wouldn't witness in so many parts of the world. Unless we step out, we do not remember this. Every time I step out of the country I remember how thankful I am to be living here.

Loyalty. People remain faithful to us through good times and bad. When was the last time you showed your appreciation?

Love of your life.Your spouse may be the most important person in your life. Do you take his or her love for granted?

Students. I have had connection with student familes who’ve been with us for years. Am I thankful for the loyalty and the Blessings?

Health. We don’t appreciate good health until we feel lousy. When we get better, we take our health for granted again. (So much for learning from our mistakes.)

Freedom. We have: the right to privacy, the freedom to speak our mind, and the privilege to practice the religion of our choice. It wasn’t always that way. People gave their lives to protect those freedoms.

Variety. We have so many travel options, food choices, and retail alternatives available to us. Not everyone has that luxury.

Trust. Your faith in those who are close to you enables you to share your deepest secrets with them. Do you realize how special that trust is?

Dedicated team. We have an amazing team who do everything we ask of them — and more. Do you acknowledge their value —or take it for granted?

Security. We have reasonable weather, access to healthy food, and can walk the streets safely at night. Be thankful that we don’t live our life in fear.

Basic necessities. We have three meals a day, a warm bed to sleep in, and a shelter over our head. To some people, that’s a luxury.

Nature. After days of bad weather, we appreciate the sunshine. Maybe we shouldn’t take clean air or water for granted.

Life. Everyday we see someone in the obituary column and our name is not featured there. Do you take that for granted?

Appreciate What You Have Before It Becomes What You Had

One day we should take a moment and listen to ourselves. We complain about not having enough while we lose sight of the wonderful things that we have. That happens because we get restless, things become too routine, or perhaps because we enjoy the hunt for something new.

The problem is, when we take stuff for granted, things eventually go south . . . the relationship goes sour, the team member jumps ship etc.. And, of course — then we react with panic. As the saying goes, “People say you don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone. Truth is, you knew exactly what you had . . . you just never thought you’d lose it.”

So . . . think how you’d react if those things “walked” out of your life. Why wait for that to happen? If you’d care a lot if you lost them, find the time to show appreciation for them today. As the saying goes, “You should appreciate what you have before it becomes what you had.”

Happy Thanksgiving!