Perspective is everything. It changes how two different people can feel about the same result. There used to be a saying that happiness = expectations – outcome. I've found that to be very true in my life experience.

It's how you get wildly different takes about the same sports game, or election results, or a new movie. We may be more similar than we are different, but there are still more than eight billion of us, and we're bound to have some variance in opinion.

Should we thus enter any engagement with minimal expectations? I'm not sure this is the correct answer either, as expectations derive from anticipation, from thinking about a given event before it happens, like how athletes visualize scoring before it happens. Preparation, most of the time in life, is worthwhile. Considering the possible range of expectations yields better results. What is the absolute worst-case scenario, and what is the one you dream for? Most likely the result will be somewhere in the middle.

Which is where gratitude comes into play. Practicing gratitude insulates us from disappointment, from resentment festering from misaligned expectations. We can always be grateful when the worst-case possibility doesn't occur. We can always be grateful for the successes and prosperity we do enjoy, no matter how meager they may seem. We can be grateful for the very breath we take right now...

It all, gratitude, and the consideration of possible outcomes, comes from perspective. It's a worthy element to strive for every day.