The Power of Appreciation

in #health7 years ago

'What you appreciate, appreciates'

I was first introduced to this concept by Coach Charles Poliquin, trainer to over 800 Olympic athletes. This phrase has shaped my life since I first heard him talk about it in 2008, though I'm sure it's been a truism for many years before that.

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I appreciate my fiance and everything she does.

What you prioritise, grows

If you appreciate your friends, you'll prioritise spending time with them, in which case you'll grow strong friendships. If you appreciate education, you'll seek education and focus, and you'll grow your knowledge. If you appreciate computer games, you'll spend a lot of time playing games, and you'll get better at computer games.

Now that all seems very obvious, but priorities are extremely important. We all only have 24 hours in a day, so only what you truly appreciate will have a chance to grow. You just don't have enough hours in the day so only what you appreciate will appreciate because only what you appreciate will you prioritise.

Appreciation gives perspective

Before bed, I write down five things that I'm grateful for in my life. When I wake up and do my teeth, I think about the one thing that I'm most grateful for at that moment. These two things have made a big impact on my life. I have suffered with depression and anxiety for most of my adult life and I have to say, focusing on what I'm grateful for has really helped combat these conditions.

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Appreciating life in a Japanese zen garden.

Focusing on what your grateful for does two things:

First, it helps put things in perspective. It's easy to compare yourself to others negatively - they have/are this and I don't/am not. Remembering what you have in your life, helps you stop worrying about what you don't have. Secondly, appreciating the things you have in your life helps you approach life more positively. Focusing on the good things in life gives you a more positive attitude. The more positive your attitude, the better able you are to deal with problems in your life.

Appreciation builds giving

Tony Robbins, the legendary motivational speaker, tells a story about when he was young and had just $21 to his name. He had no money for rent, no money for food and no money for bills. At that point in his life, he gave his last $21 away to a young boy with a single mum, so the little boy could 'take his mum to dinner'.

The next day he received $1200 in the mail - a sum that he had been owed for months but had given up as lost.

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Now, the moral of the story is not that there is some mystical force in the universe that gave him money because he did a good deed. The moral Tony Robbins tells is that, once you start focusing on other people, things become more simple. You no longer worry about what you can or can't do. You no longer worry about what you've not got that others have.

Life does have a way of giving back. If you appreciate others then you'll give more. If you give more, you'll always get back.

Just a quick ramble on the power of being grateful and appreciating what you have. It's been powerful for me recently.

Yours in health,
Coach Ben
@coachben @sixweekhealth

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Post great .. Well done
Gratitude makes our lives simpler and easier
Thank you for your words

Thank you for reading!

Appreciation developed self confidence and gives motivation.

It's easy to lose motivation when you only think about what you don't have. Appreciation focuses on what you DO have and that really helps develop confidence in who you are :) Thanks for the comment @introvert-dime

the two points mentioned @introvert-dime has given me a different perspective to life and make me to become more productive in my business in the last few months. @healthsquard, thanks for dropping those points. i realize i have more work to do in appreciating the great things of life even when it seems all hope is lost

appreciation actually strengthen relationship, it is core important to learn how to appreciate, because it add value to the life of the two parties and never depreciates

Thank you for sharing, it is nice to read such inspiring advice! :)

Thank you for reading @veroko :)

One smile is enough to last a day. . .

Loved that post “once you start focusing on other people, things become more simple. You no longer worry about what you can or can't do. You no longer worry about what you've not got that others have”.... thank you for sharing

Thanks @syedfahadzaman. When you are struggling with your direction in life, asking yourself what you can do for others can really help give you a new direction!

Wow, love the life you choose to live. Everything is down to choice. Keep having a good time, life of a beleiver

Great point - not everything that happens in life is down to choice. But how we deal with it is always our choice!

thank you for sharing @helthsguared

Thank you for reading!

Couldn't have said it any better, culture of appreciation is something everyone should develop. To me it encompasses alot of things even down to the least detail in your life we ought to be appreciative of it all. Few months ago I wrote a book about gratitude. Thank you for enhancing this believe with your post.

Well done for writing a book! That's a big undertaking that many would like to achieve. The little things are often the most meaningful things we can appreciate

yeah that's well said . A genuine appreciation to one would optimize their skill , we really are spreading positive vibes to them . I really love this principle and applying it since 3 months . The results are really very satisfactory . I came to know this principle after reading the book "HOW TO WIN FRIENDS AND INFLUENCE PEOPLE" . Thanks for sharing and making me the power of principle once again . Have a good day :)

That's a great book. Haven't read it in years. I will pick it back up again!

Appreciation is key to true peaceful mind from my own view

I've known about the importance of appreciation for years - but its so easy to forget to actively do it! Each time I refocus on it I feel so much better mentally

Sometimes I have to take a step back and reflect if I'm on the right track, Thanks for reminding me that I need to be more appreciative of everything around me, instead of being selfish and looking within and being without. Great post and may all your days be blessed as you spread your words. Grateful and appreciative of this post.

Thank you. When we are chasing big dreams, it's easy to feel unsatisfied with what we currently have - because we haven't achieved the dream. It's great to dream big but we must still be grateful for the now

Thanks for your good appreciation posting, upvote & reply one to help my account .....

Nice post..yes If we appreciate others then we'll give more. If we give more, we'll always get back...👌

Thank you for your inspiring post @healthsquared. Someone very close to my heart told me to appreciate every little things in life. Appreciation for me is being contented.

Appreciation really does help you feek more content with life because you fully understand what you already have! Great point @jorgevallarosa

very interesting i like

Good post! Upvote for you & replay one tu help my account, please

Appreciation builds giving

The beauty of appreciation goes back into the Bible : Give and it shall be given unto you, good measure, shaken together and running over.

Give and you shall receive. Ancient wisdom indeed!

Very right thought! I agree, that it is necessary to prioritize, you can not be successful in everything and keep up with everything. Once you figure out, what's important to you, it gets easier.
I liked your ritual before bed thanking the life for 5 items! Thanks)

Let me know how it goes once you've tried it for a week!

Hi @healthsquared,

Thanks for this great post. It has urged me to value appreciation more.

To me, appreciation is simply an act of showing love to what you value.

@unique18

'Show love to what you value' :D love it

I'm sure it's a good start into the day when you focus on things you're grateful for! It gives you a positive attitude and you feel very happy - I can see how this fulfills your life more than just concentrating on the bad things that have ever happened to you! Very inspiring post! :)

It only takes two or three minutes to set the right mindset in the morning :)

I agree with you @ health squared, appreciation is a very nice virtue

Loved this. Just recently I started making a list every night of all the things that I was grateful for in that day and it truly makes you change your perspective, appreciating things as simple as a meal makes you change your priorities immensely. Keep it up, I´ll take you tip thinking o that one thing i´m most grateful for in the morning!

It helps me sleep at night to write down the things I'm grateful for too!

it sure does! you fill like you finally closed the chapter on that day

@healthsquared Appreciation and gratitude are two things that we need to consciously practice in our life everyday for wholesome living! One can truly notice the different it makes to one's life once adopted!

It's easy to think you appreciate things when you don't truly feel it. You make an excellent point that we have to consciously practice it to make it work!

I find a gratitude journal can be helpful in that you record 1-3 things your grateful for or appreciate each day. These can be tangible things like a cup of coffee or more abstract things like a painting.

Completely agree :D I do mine before bed to help clear my mind!

Clever people know what they save in brain likecu, the sentence is interresting and the whole post waiting ur next

I try to do that, to be really grateful for all the things that I already have, It’s amazing how you day improve and you feel more happy if you are grateful. Nevertheless, sometimes I forget to say thanks and my days begin dark, I begin to complain and I am not able to appreciate life. Your post help me to remember how important is to be truly grateful and to have a good aptitude. Thank you for your inspiring post

Thank you @nakary. I am grateful for your comment! :p

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Appreciation is a very powerful tool.. it's not the words that you say its the meaning behind the words.. if you can develop the skill to notice the subtle feeling that true appreciate invokes then you have the world at your feet.. Great post bringing awareness to the power of appreciation!

Excellent! People hear that being grateful can improve their life, and they think thatit's just to simple, it can't ACTUALLY do anything. But, the truth is that all kinds of people attest to the power of gratitude. Thank you for the reminder. I'm grateful for this post :)

It's an easy concept to 'know' but it's a hard concept to really do. Truly feeling gratitude is a tough thing to achieve. Thank you for reading :)

Thanks for sharing so inspirational words @healthsquared, I beleive it could be really helpful for many steemians in here! Reestemit!

Thank you for your kind words @biofibromialgia!

Ahh thanksss! You have help me!
Focus on grateful things!! Ya... i tends to complain my crankybaby....ah... ok I know what to focus at now.. thanks

It's hard to be positive all of the time - so it's good to have a reminder about the things we value in life, just as a little help!

True, reminder needed. Thanks!appreciate it

Easy words with a deep meaning.
Love the message.
Appreciation and gratitude are virtues we all should imbibe.

Definitely! Thanks for the comment @youngfred :)

You are welcome

Sweet selfie💏 I wish you a good Valentine's day.💑

Thanks @jozef230, great to hear from you :)

Love this post!Thanks for sharing.Truely inspirational.

Everyday as part of my morning routine writing 3 things I'm grateful for, or 1 thing I'm grateful for, and 3 reasons why. I would recomend it.

That's a great idea!

Love this @healthsquared.... I am big on gratitude .... appreciation sounds like the cousin of gratitude..:)

Yeah I think they are one and the same :D Thank you for reading!

Amen to that, if you don’t know it already I recommend you the Book The Diamond Cutter by Geshe Michael Roach, as a director of a diamond company growing it to a megamillion business on the exact same principles you describe.

Oooo, sounds really good. I'll put it on the reading list for sure!

this is absolutely correct, all my life, i have come to realize that it pays to be positive in everything that you do, appreciates dont condemn

"What you appreciate, appreciates. "

I'm so going to adopt this concept from today and develop a strong habit of appreciation.