Appreciation Before It’s Too Late | #72

By Armaan Athwal

Today's Overview:

• Why do we only appreciate things when they’re gone?

• Being more aware and more grateful

• Quote of the day

Gratitude Without the Wake-Up Call

Last week, I was unwell. Nothing serious, just a few days of feeling awful. But in that short time, everything I cared about took a backseat. Work, goals, plans, it all faded. The only thing that mattered was feeling normal again.

And then, as soon as I got better, I went right back to life as usual.

I see this everywhere. We don’t appreciate our health until we’re sick. We don’t value our time until we feel like we’re running out of it. We don’t cherish relationships until they’re distant or gone. It’s like we need the threat of loss to recognize the value of what we already have.

I’ve been thinking about why that happens. Maybe it’s because our brains are wired for urgency. If something isn’t a problem right now, we push it aside. The bill that’s due today gets our attention, not the slow damage of skipping workouts, neglecting friendships, or wasting time on things that don’t matter. But the cost is still there, building up in the background.

There’s a concept called hedonic adaptation. It’s the idea that we quickly adjust to whatever becomes normal. Get a new car? It’s exciting for a few weeks, then it’s just your car. Achieve a big goal? Feels great for a moment, then you’re onto the next thing. Even the things we once prayed for become background noise.

But the opposite is also true. The second something is taken away—our health, our freedom, our time, we suddenly feel its weight. We wish we had cared more, tried harder, been more present.

The challenge is to break that cycle. To recognize what we have before it’s threatened. To stop waiting for loss to remind us of value.

Lately, I’ve been trying to be more intentional about this. Not just in the big, obvious moments, but in the everyday details. Taking a little time at the end of the day to be grateful, no matter how it went.

It’s nothing dramatic. Just small shifts in awareness, catching myself before I take things for granted, before I assume I’ll always have more time, more chances, more of anything. Because if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that life rarely gives a warning before it takes something away.

Because I don’t want to live in a way where appreciation only comes after something is gone.

Quote of the Day

“Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for.” - Epicurus