Be grateful where you are.

Dear Men,
Be grateful where you are.

Of all the previous 142 editions, this is one I encounter the most frequently. One of the ‘hazards’ or, better put, privileges that come with branding people for career opportunities is that I get to see different perspectives of the same reality.

A client, let’s call him Mr A, reaches out saying:
“Jack, I can’t do this anymore. This workplace is toxic. I’m exhausted. Help me rewrite my CV. I need to leave.”

A few days later, or even earlier, another client, Mr B, contacts me. “I’ve always wanted to work with this company. If I can just get in there, it would change the trajectory of my career. Please help me position my CV.”

The interesting part?
They’re talking about the same company.

At first glance, you might think I should discourage Mr B, but I don’t.
You might ask, “Why?”
Because I don’t know what Mr B is currently enduring. The workplace he desperately wants to leave, 90% of the time, is far worse than the one Mr A is trying to escape. To him, this opportunity isn’t just another job; it’s a significant step upward.

That has taught me a lesson I constantly remind myself of: gratitude is often a matter of perspective.

The car you’re tired of repairing is the car someone is praying to own, the apartment you call “too small” is larger than what another family currently lives in, the salary that no longer excites you is more than another professional has ever earned in years, the spouse whose little habits frustrate you is the kind of life partner someone has spent years praying for, the healthy body you barely acknowledge is something a patient in a hospital would give almost anything to have again.

This doesn’t mean you should stop aspiring for better. Growth is good, Progress is necessary, Ambition is healthy.

But never become so focused on your next level that you become blind to your present blessings.

Comparison has a way of convincing us that we have nothing, even when we have plenty. Gratitude reminds us that today’s reality was once yesterday’s dream; many of us prayed for opportunities we now complain about.

We fasted for jobs we now drag ourselves into every Monday; we asked God for responsibilities that today feel like burdens. Sometimes the blessing didn’t change; our perspective did.

So before you complain today, pause for a moment.

Look around, take inventory, remember where you started, remember the prayers that have already been answered. Someone, somewhere, is asking God for the very life you are living.

Don’t lose sight of that. Be grateful where you are, even as you prepare for where you’re going.