Appreciation

Begin the Google search for 'feeling appreciated' and Google, in all its auto-fill wisdom, will continue with 'at work' and 'in relationships.' We are human, we want to feel appreciated across the areas of our lives, not only at work or in our relationships, also within ourselves.

So what exactly is appreciation?! According to Merriam-Webster's Dictionary online, appreciation is a "feeling or expression of admiration, approval, or gratitude." The third entry is particularly interesting when looking at feelings of appreciation: "sensitive awareness."

A small study was conducted tracking the visual gaze of participants who were either trained to focus on neutral visual stimuli or trained to focus on positive visual stimuli. They were given baseline tests to establish their level of attention to negative stimuli. After training the participants, the researchers found that those trained to focus on positive visual stimuli demonstrated an active attention avoidance towards negative stimuli. The neutral-trained group did not.

When we buy a new car, drive down the highway and begin to notice that many people drive the same make and even the same model of our new car. Maybe you have noticed it when a friend mentions a band or shares a song with you and suddenly you start hearing about the band or song on the radio. No, I'm sorry, we did not become cooler suddenly and know about the coolest trends as they happened. Our brains became aware of what had been there, but we had previously ignored.

This is awareness, notably sensitive awareness. To find the good and value in ourselves and others, we need to be attuned to looking for it. We can practice sensitive awareness through an active, intentional focus on observing the positive things, behaviors, conversations, events, and areas in our lives. Take small moments throughout your day to notice your space and what is going on. What is something positive happening right at this moment?

A wise friend once told me the best things are shared things. Appreciate your part in that positive element. Appreciate others' part in it as well. Speak it. Write it. Share below what you are appreciative of in this moment.