AL UDEID AIR BASE, Qatar -- I think it's amazing how our attitudes and perspectives shape our life experience. The way we look at issues and challenges has a huge impact on our happiness. Here at Al Udeid, I’ve found it is easy to get frustrated about my air conditioning not working, my favorite item being out of stock at the DFAC or my internet connection being too slow. However, when I think about my attitude later, I realize many of the Airmen in Afghanistan and some of our other austere locations don’t have these things or maybe only have access to them once or twice a week. Most of these Airmen would be very grateful for just a hot meal or to have the opportunity to send an email to their family. How can they be thankful while I get frustrated? Do these Airmen have better character than me? Maybe, but I think a lot of it has to do with how their daily experience and perspective impacts their attitude.

It turns out humans have a cognitive bias towards reacting this way. Ramit Sethi, who writes about finance and psychology, uses people complaining about a broken escalator as an example of the “Tyranny of Abundance.” It’s natural for us to get frustrated when we perceive things are taken from us. Humans aren’t the only ones with this emotional response. In a study on the emotional reaction to loss, chimpanzees were given one apple and the chimps were happy. Another group of chimps was given two apples and those chimps were happy. But, when a third group of chimps each received 2 apples and then had one taken away, the chimps became frustrated and angry. At the end of the experiment you had two groups of chimps with one apple each, one group was happy and the other was angry. While we aren’t chimpanzees, I think it’s an interesting study that highlights this very basic emotional response.

So if it’s human nature, are we doomed to be frustrated when any of the comforts we come to expect aren’t there? Marcus Aurelius wrote, “When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive – to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love.” He saw the importance of daily gratitude to how we perceive things that happen to us in our lives. There are different techniques to practice daily gratitude, such as prayer before meals or daily journal. I think there is a lot of value in deliberately incorporating it into your daily life. While he was the richest man in the world, he also thought it was important to take a certain number of days to practice poverty. He would take little food, wear his worst clothes and get away from the comfort of his home and bed. The purpose was to make himself familiar with these things so he would not fear if his riches were ever taken away. It also helped him to stay grounded and not take everything he had for granted. It can be beneficial to take time occasionally to visualize or practice going without some of the comforts we have in our lives.

Marcus Aurelius also wrote, “Very little is needed to make a happy life; it is all within yourself, in your way of thinking.” He believed we have it within ourselves to enjoy our lives. It’s exciting, but it means we have to take responsibility for our attitudes. Try taking a minute to appreciate the simple things in your life. Daily gratitude only takes a few minutes, but it can have a big impact on your experience at the ‘Deid.