Ways to Appreciate Life

 and Your Life

Do you appreciate yourself? Then you feel good and when you feel good you value everything for the better. But you wouldn't read this page if you were feeling good, so I give you some tips to improve the way you treat yourself.

"But I do not treat myself bad!" Of course not consciously, but I bet you have negative thoughts about yourself, and that is the same as treating yourself in a bad way.

To learn ways to appreciate life, here are a few tips that may be of use to you.

Be Happy

Watch your thoughts and look how many times you think negative about yourself (and others). You correct yourself negative every time you do something that could have been done in a better way. 

You do that in a way you should not use to an other person, isn't it? "Stupid!, you learn it never", "Shame, I've forgotten that", "This is worth nothing, can be done much better" and so on. Yes, I know. 

But do you know how many times a day you speak that way to yourself? A great part of the about 60,000 thoughts we think in a day. Now here's an exercise to change that way of thinking:

Every time you become aware of a negative thought about yourself, change it in the positive. For instance when you think:"Stupid! you learn it never", you can start laughing about it, release the negative feeling and think: "It isn't that worse, next time I shall prepare this or do it slower".

Write down those thoughts as well the negative as the positive, behind each other. This way you learn a new approach of judging your behavior. Over time you will appreciate yourself and your life much more.

Attitude

Your attitude is of great importance for the way you receive what you get and as a result the ways to appreciate life. If you have a positive attitude you will be accessible and enjoy many things because you can receive it. If you have a negative attitude you will resist what you get and value it in that way too.

What is your reaction when someone gives you a compliment about the fashion you are wearing? Do you say something like: "Oh, that's an old jumper" or do you say: "Thank you, I agree, that's why I wear it". 

In the first case you are resisting what you get, you cannot receive what you is given, there is even a possibility that you think: that's only politeness, she doesn't mean it sincerely. 

In the second case, you show that you can appreciate the compliment and as a result people will give you more compliments. Yes, it is fun to give to accessible people!

An other example: at the time of this writing it is autumn in the Netherlands, leaves are falling day after day. I like the intense, beautiful colors and enjoy it. Behind my garden are a few very large plane trees with, perhaps you know, large thick leaves. You can imagine, those leaves fall in my garden.

With a negative attitude I could think: "Oh, now again I have to clear up all those leaves, what a nasty job". But that's not my habit anymore (once it was!). Now I am glad with the leaves, I rake them up to the borders to protect the plants that grow there for frost. When I think how it will feel when the work is done and how my garden will look at springtime, I just feel grateful for all those leaves.

You see how you can be grateful for everything in your life and you will find many ways to appreciate life from now on.