Mike Robbins

Infusing Life and Business with Authenticity and Appreciation

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Appreciate the Simple Things

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Do you take time in your life to appreciate the simple things?

While this can be easier said than done, especially these days, sometimes it’s the simple things in life that bring the most happiness to us. It’s all about taking the time in life to appreciate this stuff.

How I Learned How to Appreciate the Simple Things

A few years ago, my left ear got plugged up, and it was difficult for me to hear out of it for about 48 hours. It was scary and challenging. Thankfully everything was okay, it’s all clear now, and I’m able to hear just fine out of both ears.

Having this happen was yet another example of how easy it is for me to take something simple but essential (like hearing) for granted.

Sadly, we often don’t appreciate the simple things in life until they’re threatened, impacted, or taken away from us somehow, which is an all too often occurrence. Sometimes people don’t realize how important the little things are until it’s too late.

Think of all of the simple (and not so simple) things that we weren’t or still aren’t able to do because of the pandemic…and how much impact this has had on our perspective.

But what if we took the time not only to appreciate but also acknowledge the simple things in our lives all the time in an authentic way? What kind of an impact would that have on our lives, our work, and our relationships? Dramatic, to say the least!

The book A Thousand Things Went Right Today by Ilan Shamir is all about this phenomenon. The book invites readers to take a look at the little things in life humorously. It highlights the importance of appreciating and focusing on positivity in life instead of the negativity we so often see in society every day.

Think about all the simple things that have fallen into place just today to allow you to be sitting here, reading these words right now.

With this in mind, there are two crucial things that you can do right now (and in an ongoing way) to alter the experience of your life, your work, and your relationships extraordinarily.

Two Things That Can Help You Appreciate the Simple Things in Life

1) Be Easily Impressed

It doesn’t have to take much to be easily impressed. In fact, by actively paying attention to the positive things around us in life, we can be easily impressed by the beauty of life.

To be easily impressed (i.e., to truly appreciate the simple things in life), we have to:

  • Look for the good stuff.
  • Appreciate the small miracles that occur around us all the time
  • Focus on the fantastic aspects of people and situations
  • Let go of arrogant, erroneous notions like, “I already know that,” or, “I’ve seen it all,” or, “No big deal.”

When we’re hard to impress, we also make it hard to be happy, grateful, and fulfilled, which are fundamental parts of a happy life.

When we are grateful for the things around us, it makes us feel more positive, gives us more energy, and helps us acknowledge the goodness that occurs in our lives. It helps people feel positive emotions, build stronger relationships, and appreciate their lives more. It also leads to more optimism and less negativity and can even make people less depressed.

When we allow ourselves to be easily impressed, life gets much more fun and interesting.

Appreciation is fundamentally subjective. People and things are only valuable (or not) based upon our perception of them.

If you’re interested in living a life filled with passion, success, and gratitude, it’s in your best interest to allow yourself to be authentically amazed all the time.

Remember that life is a miracle and that people are incredible. You are fantastic.

These things are only valid if we pay attention to them and allow the greatness of life, others, and ourselves to impact our lives.

2) Be Hard to Offend

Being hard to offend is not about us abandoning our values or convictions. It’s more about choosing to allow other people and things to be precisely as they are, without resistance to judgment.

We take so many things personally that have nothing to do with us at all. The more we react to something, the less freedom, and peace we have.

Take a moment to think about what offends you or triggers you. Are there specific situations or people that trigger you?

When I get really “triggered” by someone or something, if I make it all about the other person or the thing I’m focusing on, I usually miss the real gift, the lesson, and the point (i.e., the shadow or mirror that this “negative” thing is showing me about myself and life).

When you take the time to look deep inside and find out what triggers you, it allows you to become more self-aware, enabling you to understand deep down what sets off those feelings and emotions.

We are not victims of the people or circumstances in our lives.

It is crucial not to let people have power over your emotions and feelings. You must let people be responsible for their own emotions.

Remember: others don’t have the power to offend us. As Eleanor Roosevelt so brilliantly stated, “No one can make me feel inferior without my permission.”

This same phenomenon is true about being offended. It’s a choice we make, and we have the power to choose not to be offended in almost every situation.

Unfortunately, most of us (myself included) have these two things flipped upside. In other words, we’re often tricky to impress and easy to offend. And, as you may have noticed, this doesn’t work so well for us and those around us. We can start flipping this around (becoming more easily impressed and more brutal to offend) by appreciating the simple things.

Action Idea – Appreciate the Simple Things Right Now

Take a moment right now to pause and put your attention on all of the simple things you can appreciate at this moment.

Look around where you are, go within yourself, and scan your life right now – focusing on what you appreciate. You can think about these things, talk about them with someone else, or write them down (on a piece of paper, in your journal, in a word document, on my blog or your blog, on social media, and more).

It doesn’t matter what form it takes. It’s about putting our conscious attention on some of the many simple things we can appreciate at this moment.

While “simple,” some of these things may be significant (your health, your job, your most important relationships, etc.) And, even if you focus on basic stuff (the fact that you have a computer or device that allows you to access this article, that your eyes work well enough to read it, that the electricity or battery power running your computer or device is allowing it to function, and more), your ability to recognize and appreciate the “good stuff” in life is directly related to your level of fulfillment and enjoyment.

The Importance of Practicing Gratitude

Never underestimate the power of gratitude. Practicing gratitude is a great way to appreciate the little things in life. It can help you feel more positive emotions, and doing so can help improve your psychological health.

We always choose what we pay attention to, what we focus on, and what we appreciate (or don’t). Commit to yourself to enjoy the simple things in your life in a genuine and ongoing way, and see what happens!

Click here to learn more about the importance of being grateful.

I have written five books about the importance of trust, authenticity, appreciation, and more. I deliver keynotes and seminars (both in-person and virtually) to empower people, leaders, and teams to grow, connect, and perform their best. As an expert in teamwork, leadership, and emotional intelligence, I teach techniques that allow people and organizations to be more authentic and effective. Find out more about how I can help you and your team achieve your goals today. You can also listen to my podcast here.

What “simple” things in your life can you appreciate right now? Share your thoughts, action ideas, insights, and more on my blog below.

Liked this post? Here are three more!

The Importance of Flexibility
Remember How Strong You Are
The Important Difference Between Positive and Negative Competition

This article was published on May 18, 2010 and has been updated for 2021.

If You’re Trying To Prove It, You Don’t Believe It

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My counselor Eleanor recently said to me, “Mike, if you’re trying to prove something, it means you don’t actually believe it yet.” Her words hit me right between the eyes, as they often do. She was right and as I reflect on certain aspects of my life, I can see that where I’m overly attached to proving myself, it’s because I don’t actually believe in my own skill, talent, or value (i.e. I’m looking for outside validation to “prove” my worth)…maybe you can relate to this?

In this week’s video blog, I talk about this phenomenon and how we can move from “proving” to “believing” in an authentic way.

Check out the video below and feel free to leave a comment here on my blog about it. You can share thoughts, questions, ideas, insights, or anything else that this video inspires.

Consciously Complete 2011

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These few days before the start of the New Year have a magical and sacred quality to them. I appreciate the lull in activity that often takes place this week and the opportunity we have to reflect back on the year that is ending, as well as to create new possibilities and intentions for the year that’s about to start. It often seems more exciting to focus on our “resolutions” for the coming year than it does to look back. However, before we jump ahead and start making our goals for next year, it’s essential that we complete the year that is about to end consciously.

As much as I personally love this completion process, I usually have mixed emotions reflecting back on the year. There is often excitement, gratitude, and joy for all of the wonderful accomplishments, experiences, insights, and more. There is also sadness, disappointment, and sorrow over the things that I didn’t accomplish, the people and things I’ll miss, and the places in my life where I struggled or failed.

This is as true as ever as 2011 comes to a close. This past year I’ve experienced some really big highs and some painful lows, especially with the loss of my mom in June. I’m truly grateful for all that I’ve learned and experienced, even with the pain and sadness I’ve experienced.

Due to the common mixture of emotions we experience and especially with a year like 2011 which created a lot of growth opportunities for most of the people I know and work with, it’s essential that we embrace and practice the art of completion. Completion is a conscious process we engage in whereby we do and say whatever we need to in order to create a true sense of closure to an experience (in this case, the year that is about to end).

Because we often have resistance to authentically celebrating and appreciating ourselves, reflecting honestly on our accomplishments or our failures, acknowledging our real results or lack thereof, grieving loss with depth, and more – we usually just roll through the end of things and either avoid completion all together or move onto the next thing as fast as we can. When we do this, however, we miss out on a sacred and important process.

Completion allows us to bring things to a close with a sense of gratitude, reverence, and peace. When we allow ourselves to experience a sense of true completion, we move into the next phase of life bringing with us the gifts, lessons, accomplishments, experiences, and more from what we’ve just been through. When we don’t take the time to truly complete something, we end up carrying baggage, regrets, fear, and unresolved issues into our next experience. These things don’t serve us and often end up undermining our success and fulfillment.

As we get ready for 2012 and begin to think specifically about what we want to create and experience in the New Year, one of the most important things we can do is to complete 2011 in a conscious and powerful way.

Completion Questions

Here are some questions you can ask and answer yourself, as a way to create a sense of completion for 2011:

  • What were my biggest lessons in 2011?
  • What am I most proud of from this past year?
  • What were my biggest disappointments in 2011?
  • What am I ready to let go of from this past year?
  • What else do I need to do or say to be totally complete with 2011?

As you take some time to think about and write down your answers to these questions, see if you can reflect on this past year with a sense of appreciation and empathy. The word “appreciate” means to recognize the value of (not necessarily like, agree with, or want to experience again). Whether your year was “wonderful,” “terrible,” or somewhere in between – we each have so much we can appreciate about this past year. And, it’s important for us to have as much empathy as we possibly can for ourselves (and those around us), especially right now.

If you’re anything like me, you probably had some big failures or disappointments this past year – or maybe even some painful losses. When we can remember that we almost always do the best we can with what we have in each moment of our lives, we can hopefully let go of our feelings of shame, guilt, or embarrassment over any of the things that didn’t go as planned for us in 2011. And, you probably had some incredible things happen in your life this past year as well. It’s important that we acknowledge ourselves for all of it – the highs and the lows.

See if you can create some sacred time in the next few days to share your answers to these completion questions with some of the important people in your life (and maybe ask them to answer these questions as well). By creating a conscious intention for completion, you will give yourself the gift of appreciation for this past year and in so doing, allow a space to open up in which you can create your goals and intentions for 2012 with a sense of peace, power, and clarity. And, as you ponder these questions, you may realize that there is something important you want to do or say in order to leave 2011 behind and step into 2012 with freedom and passion.

Have fun with this. And, congratulations on completing another year of this magical, bizarre, wonderful adventure we call life – what a ride!

How will you consciously complete 2011? What can you do or say to leave 2011 behind you in a powerful, authentic, and peaceful way? Share your ideas, commitments, thoughts, dreams, and more on my blog below.

The Best Gift of All

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During one of her shows a few years back, Oprah Winfrey made a profound and beautiful statement that I appreciated very much. She said, “We do shows about lots of ‘stuff’ and my ‘favorite things,’ but what people want more than anything else is to know that they’re appreciated…that’s the best gift of all.”

At this time of year it’s easy for us to get caught up in the stress of getting everything on our “list” crossed off, preparing for parties and events, and rushing around to buy last minute gifts. And, with money tight for many this year, there can added stress when thinking about what gifts to get for family members, friends, co-workers, and others.

Instead of just giving “stuff” for the holidays this year, what if we gave the people in our life the most meaningful gift of all; our appreciation? Let the people around you know what you appreciate about them and why.

What do you value most about your best friend? What is it about your kids that you really appreciate? What do you love best about your spouse? How does your co-worker or your boss make your job and life easier and more fun?

Expressing our heartfelt and genuine appreciation for the important people in our life is magical and it’s essential to our ability to create happiness, fulfillment, loving relationships, healthy families, successful teams, and productive communities. Appreciation is also an important element of effectively dealing with the stress of challenges and uncertainty that so many of us are facing these days.

This year, our holiday gifts can be expressions of true appreciation which will have real impact on our relationships and make our holiday season one to remember. And, with things the way they are these days, taking time to appreciate others and life is so important this year.

Here are three simple suggestions to make your holiday gifts and your holiday season special and meaningful:

  • Write cards of gratitude. In addition to (or instead of) giving actual presents, take time to write heartfelt thank you cards letting the people around you know what you appreciate about them and how they have impacted your life this year in a positive way. Express your appreciation genuinely, specifically, and personally – in a heartfelt way.
  • Ask people what they really want. Giving something specific that someone really wants will have them feel appreciated and valued. It doesn’t have to be expensive, as long as it’s personal to them. And, if you ask them directly you may find out that what they really want is something simple that can’t be bought or doesn’t cost money.
  • Give the gift of your time or service – Make a list of a few important people in your life and instead of buying them something, call and ask each them if there is some project they’ve been putting off or procrastinating that you might be able to help them with. Schedule time to come over to their house or support them specifically in getting that task or project accomplished.

Remember what most people want, more than almost anything else, is to know that they are loved, valued, and appreciated. Appreciation truly is the best gift we can give to the people in our lives (for the holidays and at any time of the year).

What do you appreciate about the people around you? How can you express that appreciation in addition to (or instead of) buying presents for the important people in your life this year? Share your thoughts, ideas, insights, actions, and more on my blog below.