Today, I woke up in an apartment that was built by other people. The apartment is owned by a person I’ve never met.

I drove a car built by other people on a road built and paid for by other people.

I listened to news researched and presented to me by other people. I switched over to some tunes, which were written and performed and broadcast by other people.

I’m writing this on a computer built by other people, using technology built by people other than them…with software built by other people still.

I know how to type because someone else taught me. I know how to read and write because several other people held me accountable to learn. I did that in a school built and funded by other people. I got to that school on a bus built and driven by other people. And I’m thankfully surrounded by other people in a nation where the vast majority of us have at least a basic education. All because other people funded and taught those other people, too.

Through all of this, I’ve been protected from rampant crime by laws written by other people and enforced by people other than them. We haven’t been invaded by opportunistic antagonists because other (heavily armed) people are standing watch around the world on my behalf.

I can see clearly because other people invented lenses to compensate for nearsightedness. My teeth are (mostly) still in my head because other people invented ways to fill and stop cavities from spreading.

I don’t have polio or smallpox because other people wiped those diseases out of my world. I haven’t died of dysentery or cholera because other people made sure I have safe drinking water. When I’m ill, I can take medicine developed by other people, prescribed by other people who were educated by other people.

None of us are truly self-made. Yes, many of us had to fight through situations and circumstances that weren’t perfect…but every one of us did that with the aid of billions of other people.

The more you recognize and reaffirm your understanding of this, the easier it is to find a spirit of gratitude. Gratitude creates happiness, positivity, and peace. It’s hard to be angry or negative when you’re busy being thankful.