Why Should We Always Be Appreciative? (part 1)

It’s so nice to write again after summer break guys :) Even though I’ve been writing for a while, it still seems like something I had missed doing so much. Although to be 100% truthful, I did enjoy this summer a lot and now I am still trying to find the balance between the summer months that passed and the work and school months (that are passing at a quick pace as well). It is personally fulfilling when we are able to find happiness and appreciation about anything that we might get to do. And this is today’s topic too: Why should we always be appreciative?

We all know people who seem happy and positive every second of the day, even in difficult circumstances; so we often wonder, how can someone be AND remain so positive all the time? Where do they find the energy? How difficult it must be! Actually, with a little effort and consistency, it is not as difficult as it might seem. Keeping a positive mindset is something that, if we just practice enough times, can easily become a part of us and we can then, even ‘pass it on’ to others.

Here is the first thing that you can start trying to do during the very first minutes of your day. You get up, and instead of waiting for that cup of tea or coffee that wakes up your brain, you try to accomplish that ‘task’ on your own. The ‘grumpy’ face, ‘lazy’ movements, and still ‘slow processing’ brain of the morning can be wilfully replaced by a big smile followed by a cheery ‘Good Morning!’ to anyone whom you exchange paths with. At first, this might be difficult to do, I understand that it might feel unnatural. BUT once you start doing it every morning, it then just becomes a ‘reflex’, an automatic behaviour. In the beginning, people will notice the change immediately and think that it just happens to be a contemporarily good day for you; then with time, this bright smile and positive attitude will just be something that everyone will associate with you, and in some cases, it might also be extremely contagious.

Second, try to find something to appreciate about anything, no matter how small. Find the child within you, try to see the world as your 8-year-old self would. That kid wants to know so much, they love learning, they are mesmerised by the sunlight in the morning, they are fascinated by the ants that have created a little path for themselves, they love sitting and watching the night sky in the evening. There is no shame nor embarrassment in being excited about your surroundings! As adults, we have come to believe that it would be embarrassing or time-consuming (time-wasting) for a grown-up to look at the flock of birds flying by or at the ladybug striding in that leaf nearby. I ask: Why would that be something that only children can freely and openly appreciate? If we, ourselves, don’t enjoy and appreciate life, no one else will do it for us.

My advice would be: Just stop and look at the colours around you. And I mean really look at them, observe them carefully; the different shades, hues, how the sun (or moon) light falls upon nature like a light veil. Nature is a masterfully composed canvas that we have been gifted to enjoy, so use this gift, appreciate it. Time does pass by and we cannot afford to waste it, but how wasteful is it to stop for a few minutes and appreciate what’s around us? We spend far more time on our electronic devices, wasting away minutes we don’t even count as “time wasted” and then pretend to be too busy to stop for two minutes and look at the sun setting in the horizon or the breeze blow away the autumn leaves.

Without wanting to sound critical towards anyone, take a minute off from your phone time today and replace it with something that nature offers you. I guarantee that once you start appreciating the complexity and beauty of creation, you will not be able to stop your brain from doing it over and over again.

‘Till next time…