The Power of Appreciation
I recently developed a new appreciation for the concept of appreciation (pun intended!) and I would love to share with you my musings!
As many of you know, I just finished a 6 month creation and birth of a vision and dream I’ve had for a long time. On Wednesday, I had my final interview with Mike Robbins on my 6 week long Courageous Entrepreneurial Leap Six Figure Speaker’s Series that I created, orchestrated and ran both behind and on “the stage”. It is by far the biggest endeavor I’ve pursued and it was an amazing, powerful, spiritual journey for me. I chose Mike as my closing speaker because I wanted to focus on the appreciation I had for this journey, both for me, and the 1350 plus people that were on this journey, too.
What I learned from Mike has shifted my perspective on the breadth and power of appreciation. I always thought of appreciation as a simple synonym for gratitude. Yes, it is about gratitude and giving thanks AND it is so much more. Having worked with lots of financial advisors in the last 5 years, I have started to ponder about how our assets can “appreciate” and, similarly, anything we put our attention on can appreciate as well. By giving thanks, recognition, and attention, anything important to us can grow and appreciate in value. Appreciation isn’t just a re-active act of giving thanks for what is – we can also pro-actively focus our energy on what we value and what we are grateful for, and that energy continues to expand and grow. Essentially, the act of appreciation can grow our hearts, our minds and our spirits.
In some ways, I think I have intuitively known this. I have often said “if you want love, then love. If you want harmony, be harmonious”. Essentially that love begets love, harmony begets harmony. So, it seems it would be natural that if we focus our energy pro-actively on appreciating something, then that would grow. (and by the way, it goes for everything…not just the good stuff. Gossip begets more gossip. Negativity breeds more negativity. I certainly have learned a LOT about that over the years, as well). Imagine what is possible if we consciously focus our energy on what we want more of – as well as consciously quiet our urge to focus on the negativity in our lives and instead focus on how to shift that energy. How different would you life be if you were more conscious and mindful of where you put your attention? What if you created more intentionality around appreciation?
I, for one, have so much in my life to appreciate: The Speaker Series I just completed and the amazing speakers and “Courageous Leapers” that joined me on that journey; The support and love of my husband who believes I can do anything I commit my heart and mind to; All my friends, mentors, followers, team members and colleagues who support me in my journey and help me grow – and that is just the tip of the iceberg! What do you appreciate in your life? I would love to hear from you!
Hi Tara
Thanks for a great series and congratulations on your accomplishment! I did not hear every broadcast, but sampled the ‘casts of greatest interest. I also loved Mike’s final session and gained the same learning as you did for the difference between appreciation and gratitude. My insight was that if we really focus on any given situation (good or bad) we can find things that we can appreciate about that situation and fundamentally change our perspective to a more positive learning perspective.
Thanks for the series!
Hi Kathy
Thank-you so much for your acknowledgement and for your insight! I totally agree with what you shared! I often say “there is a gift in everything if you are willing to look hard enough for it”. One of my favorite stories around that is about two young boys that go to their Uncle’s farm for the Summer. He immediately puts them to work in the barn, shucking out the horse stalls after a long winter of accumulation! One of the young boys is complaining and swearing under his breathe. “I thought this was going to be a summer VACATION. I can’t believe he put us to work right away. This stinks (on every level)”. Just then he notices his brother whistling and seemingly having an amazing time shucking out the stalls. “What’s got into you?”, he asks. His brother replies with a smile “With all this poop, there has to be a pony in here somewhere!”. That story always makes reminds me of the power of perspective and looking for the gift in everything!
With appreciation,
Tara
Hi there!
I’m sorry you missed it, too! We will be having a season 2 so stay tuned! You also can still buy the upgrade package (www.broadviewcoaching/upgrade) for $97 if you want to have downloadable files for all the interviews plus some bonus interviews.
With appreciation,
Tara