Have you ever wondered how your life would be if you were grateful for everything you had? You would never want anything else. You would stay in the same relationships. You would work at the same company. You would drive the same car. You would be completely complacent.

Whenever someone wishes they had a better life or had better possessions or better partners, others in their lives always say "Be grateful for what you have." Be thankful that you have a roof over your head. Be thankful you have a car. Be thankful you have a job. Be thankful you are in a relationship or be thankful you are single. The grass is not always greener on the other side so be happy where you are. Is this piece of advice really a cure-all, or a way to keep people downtrodden?

What if your apartment is infested with rodents and roaches and bedbugs? Should one just be grateful they have an apartment and spend thousands of dollars that should have gone towards exterminating, elsewhere?

What if your car broke down every week? Should one just be grateful they have a car and spend the hundreds of dollars needed to be spent fixing the car, elsewhere?

What if your spouse abuses you or cheats on you or steals from you or doesn't even pay you any attention? Should one just be happy they are in a relationship and keep enduring these headaches? What if you are unbearably lonely and pent up with so much frustration and love to give? Should one just be grateful about being single and keep being miserable?

What if your boss puts pounds and pounds of extra work on you; fussed at you when things weren't done impeccably; then only rewards those who sit around on their phone all day at work with praise, time off and extra pay? Should one just be happy they have a job and continue to suffer from this mistreatment?

What is wrong with wanting more in life? At what point is being grateful more harmful than progressing in life? Things like working towards finding a better job, finding or connecting with better partners, getting a reliable car, and finding a better place to live are rights of passage and should be more important than staying in the same place. Staying in the same place has never benefited anyone.

So why is it when someone complains about what they lack that they are told to just be grateful for what they have? We as humans have to be more supportive to one another. Complaining is a common annoyance for many people. Perhaps someone's complaints are repetitive because they don't know how to get what they want. Wanting something more is not the problem then; it's taking the steps to move towards their goal that's holding them back. But telling them to be complacent will not help them. It will make them complain more.

Finding the reasons why they haven't worked towards getting what they want is the first step. They could lack self confidence or they could be scared. They could be moving too fast or moving too slow towards a goal. They could have no resources to draw from or have too many resources to narrow down. Being stuck in life is not a life anyone should wish on another person. It's too long and difficult to get unstuck from life once it has become trapped.

Truly being there for someone and helping them along to better things is much more effective than just telling them to be grateful for what they have and then leaving them in the dark.