I get what you're saying, but at the same time, trying to always find something to be grateful for can sometimes make things worse. What if I know that I should be grateful for everything I have and have been gifted in this life, but still feel terrible? It can make it harder to reconcile with negative emotions.

"Why do I still feel this way even though I have things to be grateful for!"

I think reminding yourself to be grateful for things is important, but should be separated from trying to find happiness.

> I think reminding yourself to be grateful for things is important, but should be separated from trying to find happiness.

Hmm... I think if you are finding things to be grateful for, you really are on your way to happiness. Maybe really, the search for happiness is actually the problem. I don't know what your search for happiness looks like, I know what mine looks like. I imagine that i will be happy when X happens, or when life event Y or Z happens. Of course, it may be that none of X, Y, or Z happens, ever. Does that mean I can't be happy in my current or future circumstances? Nope.

I will also put it out there and say that comparing our lives to others on facebook or instagram, etc. is a recipe for disaster. Maybe their lives really are better than ours, maybe they are not. What we see there is a "photoshopped" version of their life, and that creates dissatisfaction with our own lives.

Put simply, I'm trying to both "have goals for the future, but be satisfied in today".

The key is to be grateful of the good things, but still accept the bad things. I think taking the time to be mindful and appreciative of what's good in life is a great way to increase happiness overall.

Example: I am grateful to have a job, food on my table and a house. That doesn't invalidate my feelings of annoyance with my friend who I had a fight with this morning though.