Every year I write about gratitude in a Thanksgiving message.  My view about gratitude has grown and evolved.  Instead of a feel-good concept, I believe that gratitude is a principle of success.

By nature, people are negative because our brains are wired to look for threats.  We are designed not to be a predator's lunch.  This means that we are constantly scanning for threats.

Modern life has mostly eliminated those threats.  Emotions are chemicals released by the brain. The same chemicals that told us that a bear was on the horizon are the same chemicals that are released when we get cut off on the freeway, encounter a rude waiter, or misunderstand a text from a loved one.

Imagine that you have two friends.  One friend is busy and hard to get hold of, but when you hang out with them, you get encouragement and positivity.

You have another friend who is always popping up and even comes by unannounced.  However, every time you see them, they complain.  They tell you everything wrong in their life and get on your nerves.

It’s challenging to hang out with your positive friend, but your negative friend is always there.

That's a great analogy for being positive versus being negative.  Negativity is always at your fingertips while positivity needs to be sought out.  

Gratitude is a principle of success because you need positivity to not talk yourself out of seizing opportunities and seeing the blessings in life.

I believe that one of the goals in life is to enjoy the fruits of your success and be joyful.

To do this, we have to be positive.