Gratitude
I have personally struggled to use gratitude. In my 20s and 30s I read a lot of self-help books and they frequently suggested a gratitude journal. I hated doing it and if I even bothered starting, I stopped early on. I don't recall the external excuses I used, but as I look back on that time in my life naming my personal successes and building a sense of self-efficacy would have been a better start for me. And although Rick Hanson did not call this chapter Gratitude and Self-Appreciation; he does teach us how to build an inner sense of both gladness and success within the chapter. 

The Question
"Everyday she sees her life. Fade away, and pass her by. What can she do?" (Lyrics from: Her Life by Two Feet)