Mike Robbins

Infusing Life and Business with Authenticity and Appreciation

Christmas

Appreciation: The Most Meaningful Gift

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The holiday season can be more than a little stressful. At this time of year, it’s easy to get caught up in the chaos of buying gifts, preparing travel plans, and getting ready for all sorts of parties and events. If money’s tight, there’s the added strain of choosing the right presents for all our friends, family members, and coworkers, while being extra mindful of costs.

As great as thoughtful and even expensive gifts can be – most people just want to know that they’re valued. So, this year, consider showing them how much you care by giving the most meaningful gift of all: your appreciation.

Tips for Showing Appreciation

Appreciation is all about showing the people in your life why they’re important to you. To start, consider asking yourself the following questions:

– What do you value most about your best friend?

– What is it about your kids that you really admire?

– What do you love best about your spouse?

– How does your co-worker or your boss make your job easier and more fun?

Your answers are key to understanding what it is you really appreciate.

Expressing our heartfelt gratitude for the important people in our lives can be a bit vulnerable and uncomfortable at times. And yet, it’s essential for creating the types of authentic and meaningful relationships we desire.

Appreciation helps us deal more effectively with the stress and strain of our day-to-day lives. It’s at the heart of healthy families, successful teams, productive communities, and more.

If you’re looking to show your appreciation this holiday season, consider these three simple tips:

1) Write a Heartfelt Thank You Card

This holiday season, consider taking the time to write gratitude cards and give them to the people who matter most to you – both at work and at home. Let the people around you know how they’ve impacted you in a positive way. Try to express your appreciation genuinely, specifically, and personally. You can give the card as a gift in and of itself, or attach it to a more traditional present if you want.

2) Give People What They Really Want

Giving people what they truly want is another simple way to demonstrate how much you value them. Show the people around you that you’re really listening to their wants and needs by giving something specific that they’ve asked for or you know they definitely want. It doesn’t have to be expensive—it just needs to be personal to them. If you don’t know where to start, don’t be afraid to simply ask them directly.

3) Give the Gift of Time and Service

Show up for the people who matter most in your life—literally. Instead of buying them a gift, consider giving them a call to ask if you can help them with anything. It might be a project they’ve been putting off, or an errand they’ve been procrastinating on. Either way, show them how much you care by scheduling time to get it done on their behalf or just to connect with them.

Give Meaningful Gifts Filled with Appreciation

This year, consider giving a gift that doubles as an expression of your true appreciation. Not only will it make the holiday season more memorable, but it’ll also have a real impact on the people who matter most to you.

Appreciation is the best gift we can give at any time of year, and especially this holiday season.

What do you appreciate most about the people around you? Aside from buying presents, how can you show your appreciation for the most important people in your life? Share your thoughts, ideas, insights, actions, and more in the comments below.

Here are a few more posts you might enjoy:

3 Ways to Stay Positive
Lean Into Fear
Tips on Resolving Conflict

 

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.

How to Enjoy the Holidays

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The holiday season is now in full swing. If you’re anything like me, you probably have mixed feelings about the holidays. I love the excitement, parties, decorations, rituals, music, gifts, connections, and more. However, even these fun things can wear on me. And, the stress, drama, consumption, obligation, expense, and more that often come along with this time of year are not on my list of favorite things.

In addition, I often feel like I’m not doing enough, not on top of my “list,” and I sometimes worry that I won’t get everything done in time to make the people in my life happy the way I want to. Can you relate?

What if we each made a commitment to appreciate the holiday season and enjoy the whole experience this year – regardless of our circumstances or any external pressure we may feel? Appreciating the holiday season, as with anything in life, will make it much more enjoyable and much less stressful.

Instead of rushing around in a high state of anxiety and worry about crossing every item off of our never-ending to-do list, we could choose another way – one which will make this holiday season enjoyable, fun, and peaceful for us and those around us.

Here are a few things we can remember this holiday season to make things more fulfilling and less overwhelming:

– Take Responsibility for Your Experience. It’s important to remember that the stress we experience during the holiday season does not come from the holidays themselves, but from us. We’re always the creators of our own experience and the more we can remember this and live our lives from this perspective, the more empowered we are. When we stop thinking, speaking, and acting as if we’re mere victims of holiday madness (or anything else in our lives for that matter), we can dramatically enhance our enjoyment and lower our stress.

– Remember That You Are at Choice. We always have a choice about how we engage with anything. This holiday season we can choose to be annoyed by family members, obligations, forced work gatherings, crowds, prices, or anything else. Or, we can choose to enjoy the magic and fun of this time of year. We may not always get to choose the people and circumstances around us, but we always have a choice about how we relate to them. Our experience of the holidays (and of life) is up to us, as it always is.

– Focus on What You Appreciate About the Holidays. Consciously choose to focus on the things that you appreciate about the holiday season the most. Tell the truth about this to yourself and to those around you. If at all possible, don’t participate in work or family gatherings out of obligation. But, regardless of where you are, what you do, or whom you are with – make a commitment to appreciate what’s happening, the people around you, and the many blessings of this season and in your life right now.

Even and especially when things are challenging, we always have so much to be grateful for. At this time of the year, we can take a step back, breathe deeply, and experience the gratitude we have for our lives, the people in it, and for ourselves. If not now, then when?

While there are always things for us to do, gifts to buy, gatherings to attend, and much more going on at this time of year; we can choose to have this holiday season be one that is filled with authentic peace, gratitude, and joy – if we’re willing to look for, find, and focus on what we appreciate.

How do you relate to the holidays? What can you do or shift to have this holiday season be one you truly enjoy and appreciate? How can you stay positive during the holidays this year? Share your ideas, commitments, thoughts, dreams, and more on my blog below.