Be Grateful for What You Have, While Having It
The missing tile, the one percent we fixate on, and learning to be present for the ninety-nine that is already here.
I came across this line: Be grateful for what you have, while having it.
And I got stuck on it. I kept thinking, what does this line mean?
Slowly, I understood it. And I could relate to it so much.
The missing tile
There is a theory called the missing tile.
People visited a resort over the weekend and enjoyed it. There was a swimming pool. There was the sun. Beautiful water. Nature. Everything was nice.
But in that pool, one tile was missing.
When people were leaving, there was a survey. They were asked to note down what they felt.
And everyone pointed out the missing tile.
Not the sun. Not the beautiful water. Not the nature. Everyone focused on that one missing tile.
That’s what we do
That’s what we actually do in our life.
We have 99% of things. But we focus on the 1% we don’t have. Maybe even the 0.1%.
We are so busy trying to be correct. So busy trying to build our futures. So busy correcting our mistakes. So busy trying to be that perfect version of ourselves, trying not to commit a mistake, trying to be right.
Most of the time, we are either in the past or in the future. Either we are regretting something, or we are obsessed over something.
And we miss what is right here.
What really matters
What really matters is this moment. And then this moment.
Accepting the reality and enjoying it, rather than focusing too much on the future and that perfect version.
Because this is life. It doesn’t have to be perfect. It needs to be lived.
You need to make a lot of mistakes. You need to learn from them. And it’s okay. Just be. Go with the flow.
I read a lot, and I can see every author, every leader, in some way, trying to tell us the same thing. The methods are different. The framing is different. But the crux of the story is the same.
Enjoy the current moment. Be relaxed in this moment.
And eventually, that is what helps you build the future you want. Become the version you want to be. By knowing you. By understanding you.
Learning to unlearn
These are the learnings I’m trying to follow now. It’s not easy.
There are so many years of beliefs, perceptions, perspectives. And it is difficult to change them, even when you know.
Because they become muscle memory. An autopilot mode. Subconscious patterns. That is what makes them so difficult to unlearn, and to break.
But I’m doing it. I’m learning every day.
I’m learning to stay focused in the present. I’m learning to enjoy this moment rather than the future or the past.
And I’m learning to be grateful for this moment. Grateful for what I have today.
While having it.