I am taking a course called 10 Secrets for Success and Inner Peace lead by Dr. Wayne Dyer. During one of his audio segments he shares a story about his love for running in hotel hallways as a form of exercise. What’s interesting about his story is not the fact that he is running in the halls, but the responses he receives from the other guests.

Some take great offense to seeing a sweaty man running in the halls and others see it as a great idea and share their excitement. He refers to the ones that take offense as depreciators and the ones that see the potential as appreciators.

This got me thinking. How often do we go through our lives depreciating rather than appreciating? Seeing something as odd, rather than seeing the potential? Getting upset about something we have no control over, rather than looking for the good?

I would like to ask you to consider the following scenario. Being honest with yourself, which response are you likely to choose?

You are in line at the grocery store and the person in front of you has a ton of groceries. The grocery store clerk is new on the job and having difficulty using the scanner. There are no other lines to go to and you are in a hurry to get home because you have guests coming over for dinner. How would you respond?

a)     You feel yourself getting annoyed and you comment on how long it is taking.

b)     You take some deep breathes and tell the clerk that you think they are doing a great job.

Here is the challenge, for the next two weeks pay close attention to how you respond to different situations. Make note as to whether you are depreciating or appreciating.  If you find yourself depreciating more than appreciating;

1)    Go easy on yourself – depreciating yourself will only continue the depreciation.

2)    Acknowledge and congratulate yourself for the awareness. (Appreciating)

3)    Try and find one thing about each situation that you can appreciate.

At the end of two weeks please come back and share your experiences. I would love to hear how appreciating vs. depreciating worked for you.

In closing, just some final food for thought…

Depreciating blocks positive potentials and learning opportunities.  Appreciating throws the door wide open to new experiences, good feelings, and growth.

Until next time, keep making a difference.

With deep appreciation,

Pam