Count your blessings.

That phrase is written on sticky notes that are placed in numerous locations around my bedroom and behind the mirror in my car. I believe that it’s the most important ability a person can have if they want happiness.

It seems that we live in an era of negativity, one where being depressed and anxious is more normal than being content in your life. Self-hate is more common than self-love, and acceptance of failure is more common than striving for your dreams.

Whether you haven’t faced those mindsets yet personally or you are stuck in one of them right now, you can always change that.

If you choose to look at the negatives in every aspect of life, that is what will overwhelm you. There are some negative things that we can’t change in life, and focusing on them will eat a person alive with worry and stress. Instead of trying to change the unchangeable, accept them and turn to the good.

No matter what your situation is, there will always be good to look for. One that comes to mind, regardless of who you are reading this, is that you’re alive. That in and of itself is an absolute miracle. There is an uncountable number of things that could have gone differently, and you wouldn’t be here now.

Small positives like this are all around us at all times. The clothes on your back, the food you last ate, they are all blessings that we’re lucky to have. So instead of worrying about your latest test grade that you didn’t do so well on, remember that you are blessed to even have the ability to be reading this right now.

This sort of thinking can be transferred to any aspect of your life. Whether it be with a trivial matter such as losing a big sports game and thinking, “At least I got to play,” or with a more serious personal matter such as the loss of a family member and thinking, “I’m glad I was able to share so many memories with them.”

Probably one of the hardest areas to do this in is when it comes to loving yourself. With all the ideas society has given you about which way you should look and act, sometimes it can be hard to look at yourself in a mirror and love what you see.

There are millions of people that deal with this on a daily basis, and just learning to see the incredible miracle that you are as a living person can change the way you see yourself. Maybe your appearance isn’t what you want it to be, but you have a loving heart and an intelligent mind. Those are two things that billions of people wish they had. Maybe you feel like a terrible person, but you also have gifts in plenty of areas. Whatever the case may be, there will always be something amazing about you that you can find if you look for it.

There will always be something you can’t change in life. Count your blessings instead, and end the cycle of negativity that we live in today. Love yourself.