Personal development: Count your blessings...7 things you're fortunate to have in life.

We live in a world where material possessions are placed above everything else and most people equate happiness to having a truck load of money.

But when you look deeply into your environment, you'll realise that you have so much more than money could ever buy and you are indeed lucky to be counted among those who have those precious things.

Allison Bryant of All Women Stalk lists a few of those things you should be thankful for today:

1. Friendship: Friends truly are one of the best #things that can ever happen to you. If you have genuine friendships then you are blessed. If you don't get on with your family (as they say, you can choose your friends but not your family!), friends become even more important. We all need #people in our lives that we can depend on, so cherish your real friends - they will always be there for you.
2. Good health: If you're lucky enough to have good health then you're lucky indeed. There are plenty of #people who have health problems through no fault of their own, and who wish they were as lucky as you. So make the most of your good health and do your best to stay that way, by eating well and keeping active.
3. Family: If you do get on well with your family, you have yet another blessing in your life. Family should be the #people you can rely on the most (sadly not everyone has unconditional love and support from their family. So if you have a loving family, appreciate them and value #everything they bring to your life.
4. Education: Did you complain when you had to go to school? Did it seem boring? Girls in some countries have to fight for the right to be educated, so be grateful that you had the chance for a school and #college education. And learning doesn't have to stop there; you can continue to study and learn informally throughout your life.
5. Opportunities: 21st-century #women have so many opportunities open to us, unlike previous generations. We have endless entertainment, employment prospects, the #chance to travel and enjoy a multitude of hobbies. Sometimes we don't appreciate the opportunities we have, simply because there are so many of them and we don't have to fight for them.
6. Beauty: Do you worry about your looks, or think you're not attractive? Physical beauty is subjective, and anyway it doesn't last, so don't value it too highly. Instead, appreciate the beauty of the #world around you, and the beauty of people's characters. These #things are so much more important and will last a lot longer. Chances are there are #people who admire you for your inner attributes
7. Security: We're lucky enough to enjoy security in many countries; we don't have the worries that people in poorer or war-torn countries have. Although we shouldn't feel guilty about that (it's not our fault if other #people are worse off than us), we should appreciate that we are fortunate enough to be safe and secure.