Top 30 things to be thankful for if you live in Singapore (and you’re reading this)
Daniel Wong is a learning and teen expert, and is also the bestselling author of “The Happy Student”. He offers 1-to-1 programmes to help students attain exam excellence while also finding happiness and fulfillment, and to empower parents to motivate their unmotivated teenagers. Download his FREE e-book, “16 Keys To Motivating Your Teenager”. The views expressed are his own.
Would you like to…
Have a stronger immune system?
Lower your blood pressure?
Be happier and more joyful?
Be more optimistic?
Be more generous?
Be more compassionate?
Feel less lonely?
Scientific studies have found that you only need to do one thing: Be grateful.
In the spirit of the holiday season, I thought it’d be a good idea to remind ourselves of what we have to be thankful for.
My work is all about helping teenagers to become happy and successful – and gratitude is a big part of that. So I’ve listed 30 things to be grateful for if you live in Singapore, and if you’re reading this article.
1. Cheap and good food: Singapore has plenty of it.
2. 24-hour eateries: You never need to go hungry.
3. Greenery: Trees abound. You forget how nice this is until you visit other countries where there’s little greenery.
4. Singlish: We don’t usually think about how unique and amazing this language is!
5. No natural disasters: This is something we – or at least I – often take for granted.
6. Racial and ethnic diversity: This is one of the most special things about Singapore.
7. Religious freedom and tolerance: It’s nice how we all get along pretty well.
8. Internet access: You’re reading this, which means you have Internet access. (You’re in the privileged 40 per cent that does.)
9. You have a smartphone or a computer: These powerful tools are only available to a minority of the world’s population.
10. Connectivity: Referring to Points #8 and 9, you can communicate with people around the world instantaneously.
11. Opportunities for generosity: Referring to Point #10, you can potentially add value to millions of people through a blog post, video or podcast. The Internet allows us to be tremendously generous!
12. You can read: 774 million adults can’t, so let’s appreciate this gift.
13. In all likelihood, you went to school: Referring to Point #12, this probably means that you’ve had an education. (121 million children are out of education.)
14. Libraries: Singapore has more than 25 National Library Board libraries, where you can read thousands of books for free.
15. Endless ways to learn and improve: Referring to Points #8 and 14, if you want to learn about almost anything in the world, you can. You can improve yourself as long as you have the drive to.
16. Clean drinking water: You have access to clean drinking water (780 million people don’t.)
17. Electricity: You have electricity in your home. (1.3 billion people don’t.)
18. Clean streets: Thank you to all the hardworking people who keep our streets clean, every single day!
19. Nice public housing: In most other countries, you wouldn’t use “public housing” and “nice” in the same sentence.
20. Safety: It’s (generally) safe to walk the streets after dark.
21. Changi Airport: Our airport is so nice that people go there to hang out. There are few airports in the world where people do that.
22. Parks and beaches: We have plenty of well-maintained parks and beaches.
23. Clean government: No matter what your views are on the government, you’ll probably agree that, at least, it’s not corrupt.
24. Air-conditioned shopping malls: If you want air-conditioning, you can walk into any shopping mall. And we have a lot of shopping malls.
25. Air-conditioned public transportation: 97 per cent of public buses are air-conditioned, and so are our trains.
26. MRT and LRT: The train system works well (in general), and the network is expanding. Getting around is becoming even more convenient.
27. People line up at MRT stations: People line up when waiting for the train. I remember the time when this wasn’t the case!
28. We “chope” seats using packets of tissue paper: This practice is more remarkable than we give it credit for.
29. “Aunties” and “Uncles”: We call every somewhat old person either “Auntie” or “Uncle”. Visitors to Singapore find this curious, which reminds me that it’s a fascinating practice.
30. You’re alive: This is the most important one, because it means that you can make a difference to someone today. As Maya Angelou once said, “As long as you’re breathing, it’s never too late to do some good.”
I don’t deny that we all face problems and challenges daily. But that doesn’t mean we can’t be full of thanksgiving.
So for the rest of this month, I encourage you to write down just one thing a day you’re grateful for. I can almost guarantee that you’ll see an improvement in your mood and overall well-being.
Wishing you great health and happiness this holiday season!
