What is it that all of us want, all the time?

Beneath our different goals, ambitions, and desires, there is one common longing: we want to be happy. Every human effort—earning money, building relationships, seeking recognition, pursuing spirituality—is ultimately an attempt to feel happier, more fulfilled, more at ease.

 The real question, then, is not whether we want happiness, but how to live in a way that allows it to last.

Is there a shortcut to lasting happiness? Surprisingly, yes. It is not found in acquiring more things, achieving more status, or controlling life more tightly. The shortcut is the simple yet profound skill of grateful living. Happiness is not about having everything we want; it is about appreciating what we already have. That appreciation is gratitude.

Consider this carefully: many people who appear to “have it all” are not deeply happy, while others with far fewer possessions radiate contentment. The difference is not circumstance but perception. Gratitude changes how we experience life. When we are truly grateful, we cannot be miserable at the same time. The mind that is counting blessings has no space to endlessly complain.

Doctors and healthcare professionals witness this truth every day. In hospitals, patients and caregivers often see life from very different perspectives, yet both learn the same lesson: health is priceless. Most of us take our bodies for granted until illness appears. Only when health is threatened do we recognize its value. Gratitude shifts our focus from what is missing to what is already present, from what is lacking to what is alive and working right now.

This brings us to an important distinction: needs versus luxuries. Needs are essentials—health, breath, time, awareness—that we usually overlook because they are always there. Luxuries are things we enjoy but do not truly need. Ironically, we obsess over luxuries and ignore needs, even though needs are the very foundation of life. The secret of grateful living is to reverse this habit: turn needs into luxuries. Treat your breath as a miracle. Treat your waking up in the morning as a celebration. Treat your ability to see, hear, walk, and think as precious gifts.

When you wake up grateful for another day, life immediately feels richer. This simple shift transforms ordinary moments into extraordinary ones. And here we touch something even deeper: life’s greatest gift is not something external at all. It is the present moment—the ability to live fully in the “now,” in real time rather than psychological time. Most of us live trapped in memory and imagination, replaying the past or worrying about the future. Grateful living anchors us in this moment, where life actually happens.

When you wake up grateful for another day, life immediately feels richer. This simple shift transforms ordinary moments into extraordinary ones. And here we touch something even deeper: life’s greatest gift is not something external at all. It is the present moment—the ability to live fully in the “now,” in real time rather than psychological time. Most of us live trapped in memory and imagination, replaying the past or worrying about the future. Grateful living anchors us in this moment, where life actually happens.

What is a gift, really? A gift is something valuable given freely. By that definition, the most precious gift we possess is our capacity to be present. No effort is required for the present moment to arrive—it is always here. Yet we miss it by rushing, planning, and resisting what is. To live gratefully is to live now, not mechanically moving from one task to the next, but consciously inhabiting each moment.

This may sound simple, even obvious, but its power is immense. When was the last time you truly noticed a sunrise, felt the warmth of sunlight on your skin, or laughed wholeheartedly with friends without checking the time? We move so fast that we skim over life’s beauty. Slowing down reveals that beauty has been waiting all along. Gratitude is not just an emotion; it is a choice, a way of seeing.

If you want happiness, be grateful. If you want lasting happiness, master grateful living. Start small. At the end of the day, write down three things you are grateful for. Notice how your inner climate shifts. Over time, you will discover that happiness is not a destination you reach someday. It is the journey of noticing, moment by moment, the gifts that are already here.

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Dr Thimappa Hegde

Director and Senior Consultant neurosurgeon

Mazumdar Shaw Medical Centre

Narayana Hrudayalaya.