Would you rather be an Olympic silver medalist or a bronze medalist? No-brainer, right? We’d rather win gold than silver; and we’d rather win silver than bronze.

But studies have shown that, on average, bronze medalists are much happier about their accomplishments than silver medalists. People who got second spend way too much time regretting how close they were to winning the gold, while those who took third think about how close they came to not medaling at all!

Life can be lived obsessing on regrets and disappointments. Or it can be lived with gratitude.

It’s relatively easy to be grateful when life unfolds just as you had hoped and planned; but the richest expressions of thanksgiving come when you can see the joy, the love, and the goodness that lie beyond disappointments.

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