Many people complain and complain about things or people in their lives. Some even seem to have nothing positive at all to think about. No matter how difficult we believe our situation is, however, there is always someone who has it worse. It is easy to forget that other people suffer on a daily basis and have few of the blessings that we tend to take for granted when we put our time and energy into focusing on ourselves. This Thanksgiving, try to keep things in perspective:

If you are unhappy with your housing - think about those who are homeless.

When you are feeling kind of hungry - remember the African children who eat dirt just to have something in their tummies!

Had a disturbing argument with someone? - Imagine what it would be like to live in a war zone.

Suffering from a cold? - Better than a painful, terminal illness.

Wish you have a little freedom to do as you wish? - To do the inmates who are incarcerated on a life sentence?

Don't like your job? - Wonder how the young prostitutes feel when they are forced to work and then have to give all they earn to their pimps.

Transportation problems? - Think about the people in Somalia who walk across the desert with the hope of reaching a refugee camp before their children die.

Think someone at church has strange ideas about God - try living in Russia or North Korea where Christians can be persecuted for believing in anything other than the state.

A little disappointed that your child was a girl? - In China she may have been aborted.

Don't like our politicians? Which world leader would you prefer?

Weather a little foul? - Try living in Japan, India or Haiti where they have been victims of earthquake, tsunami or hurricane destruction and devastation.

Yes, as hard as it can be to understand why people in Canada even think about complaining when we have so few of the problems listed. No war, seriously destructive weather incidents, dictatorships, or murder as form of religious persecution.

We have freedom of choice and freedom to behave how we choose as long as we don't break the laws of the country which were written to protect people and their property. We have community resources to help those who need a hand up in times of financial or medical stress. We can worship if and how we want, have as many children as we wish and elect our politicians. Most of us have the ability and opportunity to work, live, and do as we please, always with the option of making changes - just because we choose to do so. We can be a guest in a restaurant, a consumer in a shopping mall or a gardener who grows food in the backyard. We can purchase clothing, sew it or even trade our outfits with others.

The only really serious demand we face in Canada is that we are required to pay taxes. But even the taxes are used for our benefit. They pave the roads and build the hospitals so that both our present and future are enhanced even further.

Time to give thanks!

And now I would like to invite you to claim your Free Instant Access to a complimentary list of 10 Steps to Making Your Life an Adventure when you visit www.lindahancock.com.

From Dr. Linda Hancock, Registered Psychologist and Registered Social Worker.