Gratitude does not make you passive; it makes achievement less desperate.

The worry is that being grateful will make you stop trying. What it actually removes is the desperation, the sense that your worth depends on the next result. Effort without desperation tends to be steadier and clearer, because you are no longer negotiating for permission to be all right.

Notice whether your ambition is driven by wanting or by fear of being insufficient. Keep pursuing the thing. See what happens when you pursue it from a position where you would still be fine if it took longer.