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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
