We’ve all heard the same advice for years: don’t take the good things in your life for granted.

But if you’re like us, it goes in one ear and out the other. Yes, we know we should be more grateful. But why is this so hard?

It turns out that humans are actually hardwired to take things for granted, and it has a name: hedonic adaptation, or the idea (which is proven by research) that people quickly become accustomed to positive or negative changes in their lives, returning to a stable level of contentment over time.

So what can be done?

Becoming more aware of the good things in our life, expressing more gratitude, and recognizing our place in the world—this is the work of a lifetime. Gratitude is a practice; there are no quick fixes or simple hacks.

So in the spirit of practice, here are three practices to explore this month:

Practice #1: Slow down to pay attention. 

A hurried, fast-paced life leaves little room to notice all the beautiful things in our life. Before we can express gratitude or notice how far we’ve come, we need to carve out the space where those reflections can happen. We tend to pack our schedules. We tend to fill the quiet moments with podcasts. We tend to move through life at a pace that enables us to take things for granted.

What is one step you can take to slow down in the last six weeks of 2024?

Practice #2: Track the distance you’ve traveled.

Because it’s so easy to grow accustomed to our current reality, it can be valuable to track how far we’ve come. Doing so can help us be more grateful for what we have right now. For example, you might appreciate your current job more by remembering some of the past jobs you had when you were younger. Or you might find gratitude for healthy relationships in your life by recalling difficult ones from the past. Remembering how far you’ve come can be particularly valuable when something is weighing you down. By identifying the distance you’ve traveled in another area of your life, you situate your current reality into a bigger context and a longer arc of personal growth and progress.

What is one area of your life where you can track how far you’ve come?

Practice #3: Shift your perspective on gratitude.

Lao Tzu captured a paradox of gratitude when he said: "When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you." It’s a profound reframe: gratitude might not be about busying ourselves with the accounting of what we have and what we lack. Instead, it might be about stepping into the present more fully and recognizing that everything we need is already here in this moment.

How might you let go of the good/bad frame and fully step into the messy, beautiful moment right before you?

Insights

The numerous benefits of walking for 30 minutes every day. We underestimate the benefits of simply walking for 30 minutes a day. Walking can burn fat, boost your metabolism, and regulate your appetite. It also has major psychological benefits. Feeling stuck or stressed? Taking a walk can boost cognitive function, spark creativity, and reduce anxiety. BoxRox (8 minutes)

The hidden power of looking back before moving forward. Setting new year’s resolutions for 2025 starts now, and it begins with reflecting on the wins, losses, and unfinished work of 2024. By starting with reflection and then mapping that onto an assessment of your overall wellbeing (mindset, health, and emotional life), you’ll be poised to set the right intentions and goals for the new year. Harder to Kill (15 minutes)

What it meant to be a good father in 1933. In The Building of Boyhood: A Manual for Parents, published in 1933, Frank Cheley outlined a list of ways that men can be successful fathers. Nearly 100 years later, many of those principles are still true (and some are quite dated). Our biggest takeaway: being a father requires intentionality and deep care. Art of Manliness (7 minutes)

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