Being grateful is easy when things are good. The wonderful things in life stand out: our families and friends, the beauty of the world and the joy of simply being alive — these are obvious and we’re happy to enumerate them for anyone who will listen. But when things go wrong, gratitude goes out the window, leaving us able to recognize only what we’ve lost or lack. In those difficult moments, we can’t see that focusing on the negative is a mistake because the worse things get, the more powerless we feel and the more likely we are to just give up, leading to more loss and proving our pessimism right.

It doesn’t have to be that way. There’s another option that’s much more challenging but worth the effort. In times of turmoil, we need to recognize and appreciate what supports us, and not just

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