Gratitude, the Motivation

Trent Larson

— 3 min read

Part 1 of 3 of the Time Safari path (AKA Why Time Safari?)

Gratitude fires our souls.

I had a couple of incidents with cars as a teenager, and the most embarrassing was when I was so upset about something that I punched the windshield. I'm not clear on the reason... it may have been something to do with plans with a girlfriend but that part is all fuzzy. I got in the car and was so angry that I rammed my fist into the windshield and suddenly there was a web of cracks across the whole thing. At first I marveled at how strong I was, but then I went numb. I don't remember anything afterward... I know I felt sick, but I don't remember any consequences at all.

My next memory of this is years later, when my mom related how Dad had taken our car somewhere with a chain and pulled a bumper to get it straight – because I had bent it in some other incident. I never knew about that one! That's unfortunate because it must have been a better story than punching it. So that reminded me of the windshield, and it got me wondering: when and how had dad fixed that? My family was always poor; plus, I know what it's like as a parent, trying to involve my kids in the consequences of their actions, and I'm sure he wanted me to learn something. But I didn't feel any of that; he just handled it without saying a word about it to me.

That was a revelation. I can recount other things my dad did for me, but this was a sudden realization of acts of service that he did quietly, behind the scenes, which I never appreciated at the time.

Norman Larson on the left, building quietly

Acts like that engender deep gratitude, which I believe is the greatest motivation for good in the world. We see small acts of kindness regularly; an unexpected smile from someone adds richness to our life, and that time that my wife took to make a meal is worth my thanks – even if it was a kind of bland alfredo dish and I wanted a hamburger. But, above that, when we are surprised by a story and we learn that someone has spent time for us and we had absolutely no clue, and it comes to light later in a roundabout way, we gain a much deeper appreciation. How many other things did that person do? What did they put aside so that they could do it? Were they cursing me at the time, like I would have done, or were they lovingly patient? These reveal a chasm of our ignorance, inside which we get just a glimpse of something grand that we never knew before. It's shocking, and mind-opening.

  • Here's a hint for elevating your own attitude, regardless of anyone else around you: set low expectations for everyone. Expect that you will get no cooperation, and that you'll have to do it all because nobody else will help with anything. That has one bonus that you're not as upset when people actually fall through, but it has the even better upside that you are pleasantly surprised when... well, when anyone does the smallest thing, even if they do it every day. (Obviously you shouldn't spend all your efforts without getting anything in return, so always beware of limits, just like investing too much time watching Dance Moms.)

We pay blessings forward because someone lifted us and we want to uplift other people the same way. If you need more convincing, there are at least 28 other benefits of growing gratitude in your life.

That's why the first page of Time Safari focuses on things for which we're grateful. It's the baseline for further action. In the next two posts I'll explain more about the other actions inside the app that help people accomplish their goals with others, because there are other benefits that will also always be free. But even this simple log of gratitude can raise spirits for family, friends, strangers, and yourself. (It will always be your data, in a standard format and never locked away.) So go in the app and set a notification, to get a reminder each and every day to recognize what someone has given – maybe to you, maybe to someone else, but always to the benefit of all.

Further Activities

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