CHOOSING GRATITUDE

As the Olympics have just come to a close, there’s something interesting that I want to share with you. Did you notice that a bronze medalist is generally more joyful than a silver medalist at the end of a game? You’d think it would be the other way around, right? But it’s a fact, backed by research, that bronze medalists usually experience more happiness than those who win the silver.

Now, logically, you might assume that a silver medalist should be happier—they came so close to the top spot! But the human mind doesn’t operate on logic alone. There’s something deeper at play here, something psychologists call counterfactual thinking.

The silver medalist often thinks, “If only I had pushed a little harder, I could have won the gold.” They focus on what they missed, and that disappointment can overshadow their achievement. But the bronze medalist? They’re thinking, “Thank God I made it on the podium! I could have walked away with nothing.” They’re grateful for what they have rather than dwelling on what could have been.

Isn’t that a reflection of how we live our lives? So often, we get caught up in what we don’t have, what we almost achieved, that we forget to appreciate the blessings right in front of us. We lose sight of the fact that, in many cases, we’re holding onto something precious, something worth celebrating.

The Bible reminds us in 1 Thessalonians 5:18, “In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” Life is full of choices, and one of the most powerful choices we can make is to focus on our blessings. When you start counting the good things in your life, you’ll realize they far outweigh the challenges. That shift in perspective fills your heart with gratitude, and gratitude, my friends, is the key to a joyful, contented life.

So, today, let’s choose to be like the bronze medalist. Let’s choose to see the blessings, to appreciate the victories we have, no matter how small they might seem. When you do that, you’ll find that your spirit is lifted, your heart is full, and you’re motivated to keep moving forward with faith and hope.

Bishop Mesrop Parsamyan
August 13, 2024