17 Dec 2025 · 2 min
Brian Johnson explains Robert Emmons' distinction between taking things for granted and seeing them as granted. The shift from passive assumption to active gratitude changes how you experience modern comforts and the people around you. Write down one thing you overlook and reframe it as a gift.
Hi, this is Brian. Welcome back to another arete plus 1 degree micro chapter from my new book, Activate youe Heroic Potential. We're having fun looking at some of my favorite ideas from a book with 451 of my all time favorites. Here's one taking things for granted versus as granted continuing our discussion of how to apply the eye popping research done on the power of gratitude, let's chat about another brilliant idea from Robert Emmons. This one is from his book Gratitude Works. Professor Emmons tells us, and I quote, think about and then write down those aspects of your life that you are prone to take for granted. Instead, take them as granted. I just love that distinction. Ungrateful people tend to take things and people for granted. For example, we tend to take all of the astonishing modern benefits that make our lives possible for granted. Stuff like a warm house, a car, a smartphone, the Internet, and all the other magical marvels of modern life. Robert tells us we'd be wise to move from taking people and things for granted to seeing them as granted. Let's think about that for a moment longer. I repeat, we can take the amazing people and goodness in our lives for granted or see them as granted. That may not seem like a big deal, but it's a really big distinction. Our plus one degree Think about and then write down one aspect of your life that you are prone to take for granted. Instead, take it as granted.
