Have you ever known someone who is constantly complaining? I have and depending on our own relationship with them it may have various immediate impact on us. If it someone we are in love with, then we have a tendency to overlook it for a great deal of time. If it is someone that we are neutral about then it may wear on us to the point that we do not enjoy being around them.
But we are influenced by the people we hang out with and when we have someone around us who always dwells on the negative side of things we can lose our appreciation for what is good. As we live in this country we are indeed very fortunate. The families we have, the schools we attend, the cultural events around us, all of these add to the quality of our life.
But focus is a very funny thing. If you are an adult, have you ever been driving down the road and started to look at something in a field to your right or left and found yourself drifting in that direction, only to have to pull yourself back quickly?
This can happen to us in how we think too. If we show appreciation and focus on the good in our lives we will feel better emotionally and we will accomplish more in our daily life. Here is one way to do this with your family. When you come home and ask everyone in your family what they are thankful for about themselves, others, things, whatever and how do they show appreciation for that gift. You may be surprised by what they say and it may be silly at first, but the habit of speaking the words out loud will affect the evening and your personal feelings.
Try this and let me know how it affects you. As an individual you may want to keep a gratitude journal. Write down 5 things everyday that you appreciate – then review it if you are feeling a bit down.
Appreciation: with respect
Showing respect is just one way of demonstrating our appreciation. When we think about our home, our school, nature and the environment, and the people in our lives we can see that showing respect is an important part of demonstrating appreciation.
You have heard me comment before about not doing things out of fear or anger. This is one of the areas that we can practice that. Respect is treating others the way we want to be treated. How can we show respect for our home, school, environment and the people in our lives?
When I think about this I think about how we care for our possessions. Do we maintain our home? Do we contribute to the neatness and cleanliness of our home, office or school? We live in such a throw away society that it is easy to think that we can just replace this or that. But what if we did not have that kind of resources. How would we treat our possessions then? How would we treat the environment or our bodies, if we recognized that while it does a real good job of healing itself, that we can show how much we value it by taking care of it to the very best of our ability.
Even our friends and neighbors. Do we value them for who they are and demonstrate our respect for them by the way we speak and the kindness we show them. Are we on time for appointments, do we listen deeply when conversing with them, or do we value our own opinion more? Thinking about the impact we have on others with the words we use with them, is another way of being aware of showing appreciation for our companions.
Appreciation: with gratitude
Appreciation is what we are discussing this month at Balanced Life Skills. By showing respect and gratitude for the people, things and places in our lives we can bring a smile and good feeling to both the recipient and to ourselves.
One way of demonstrating appreciation is to say thank you. We can do this when someone has been kind to us, helped us out when we needed it, provided a gift for us or any other act that touches our heart. This is where it gets interesting.
In our busy lives we forget to say thank you or somehow the gift we are given is not really seen as a gift or not valued as it might be. As a leader it is so important to show our appreciation and gratitude as this is a motivator for those around us to do their very best.
If we are a parent we are a leader of the most precious kind. Our recognition of real things in our children – not just saying things to make them feel good – is one way of teaching and encouraging our children to be aware of the things around them that are of value that they can show appreciation and respect for.
Lets try our best not to take the actions or words of others for granted. Lets spend the next 30 days being aware of the special things others do for us and then take the time to express our appreciation.
Appreciation
Young students
Appreciation means: “I know how special you are and I thank you!”
Older students, teens, adults:
Appreciation means being fully aware and thankful for both the little and big things in life.
Giving for Good: Grants for teachers • Columnists (www.HometownAnnapolis.com – The Capital)
This was the first write up about our newest project Grants 4 Teachers. At Balanced Life Skills this month we will be honoring the school teachers of our students. For the rest of the year we will be working to support them in a more substantial way. Please feel free to join us in showing our appreciation for the effort they make in the development of our children.
Giving for Good: Grants for teachers • Columnists (www.HometownAnnapolis.com – The Capital)
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Grants 4 Teachers
Mr. Joe has collaborated with the Community Foundation of Anne Arundel County to support all of our teachers in the county. What does this have to do with martial arts? The best self defense we can have is Education. Our teachers are one of the most valuable resources we have in the line of educating our children. All of us have had a special teacher in our life who made a difference for us. Yet so many, in fact all of them, take money out of their own pockets to provide a better experience for our students. They are dedicated souls that need to be shown that we appreciate them.
This fund will provide the essentials and sometimes the small extra things they need to be the best they can be. In addition we hope to have a small part in raising the morale of teachers by showing them on a year round basis that we know that they are working hard for the future of our students.
You can help by giving a small donation to show your support.
Visit our Grants 4 Teachers website to learn how!