Are You Depreciating Or Appreciating?

Appreciating = gaining in value | Depreciating = lessening in value || During this session, Pam shares some experiments to turn up the appreciating vibes, so you're not only able to see the good but experience it as well.

Transcript

Hello fellow Insight Timers! Welcome to the Unstoppable Mindset, A series of deep diving, Mindset related topics to empower, Inspire, Ignite, And encourage one another. So we go from underestimated to unstoppable. And welcome to this session, Are You Depreciating or Appreciating? I took an online course taught by Dr. Wayne Dyer many years ago called the 10 Secrets for Success and Inner Peace. During one of his audio segments, He shared a story about his love for running in hotel hallways as a form of exercise. What was interesting to me about his story was not the fact that he was running in the hallways, But rather his reaction to the reactions of the other hotel guests as he ran by them. He shared that some took great offense to seeing a sweaty man running past him, And others saw it as a really great idea and shared their enthusiasm. He referred to those who took offense as depreciators and those who saw the potential as appreciators. As I was remembering this course, It got me thinking, How often do we depreciate rather than appreciate? How often do we say crappy things to ourselves about ourselves? How often do we see something as different and then negatively label it rather than looking for the potential? How often do we get upset about something we have no control over instead of looking for good or learning from it? In the world of finances, Depreciating is defined as a loss of value, While appreciating is defined as a gain in value. Makes sense. But now I want to pause for a moment and ask you to think about how you would define appreciating versus depreciating. Remembering that this is your definition and no one else's. How would you define it? Since I'm a feely type person, I've defined it in terms of how it feels. I consider depreciating to feel really constrictive. And as a result, It puts me in a state of a fixed mindset where I'm more apt to negate the potential value of an experience, A situation, Or a person. So then all I see is the negative. It's kind of like looking at the world through spotted glasses where all we're going to see are the spots and not what else is in view behind the spots or to the side of the spots. And appreciating feels expansive to me. And it promotes a growth mindset where I'm able to see what's possible instead of what's impossible. In short, Depreciating can distort perception and make us feel really crappy. While appreciating can shine a light on what's good, So we're able to see and feel all the good stuff. As an example, I thought it might be fun to share a mirror analogy. I have some favorite outfits in my closet that I absolutely love to wear. And when I put them on, They usually make me feel really good. So a few weeks ago, I put one of those outfits on. And I stood in front of the mirror and was really happy with my reflection. I felt good. I felt confident. Hello, Appreciating. And as a result, To no surprise, I had a really great day. Lots of good stuff happened. And I was able to see the good stuff and celebrate the good stuff. And fast forward. One day not too long ago, I woke up feeling kind of fried and crispy. So I thought I'd wear one of my favorite outfits to give myself an infusion of positivity. I put it on, Stood in front of the mirror, And instead of feeling good, I felt bleh. Interdepreciating. Instead of seeing a confident reflection, All I really saw were the dark circles under my eyes and what to me looked like a poochy stomach. And out of my mouth came, Pam, You look like crap. And what were you thinking with this outfit? It's really awful. And guess what? I had a pretty crappy day, Which wasn't surprising. Now I'm pretty sure there were a lot of good things that happened around me. But I was in that crappy mindset, So I couldn't see them. Here's the deal. My body didn't change, Nor did my outfit. What changed, However, Was my mindset. It only takes a moment of depreciating to lower energy levels and shift mindsets from positive to negative, Which of course becomes an invitation for our inner critic to pull up a chair, Grab some coffee, And continue the depreciating. Does any of this sound familiar? If not, No worries. I have another example for you, Just in case. Okay, So in total transparency, I have to say, I can ruminate over the negative with the best of them, Chewing on the thing that's ticking me off or hurting my feelings until there's no flavor left. And it's usually over something that I have no control over, Like someone's lack of reciprocation or consideration of my time. And here's what I've come to realize, My focusing on the negative or depreciating isn't going to change the person or their behavior. What it is going to do, However, Is keep me in a state of depreciation. And that depreciation is going to infiltrate and block the good stuff that's going on around me. The same holds true when we're depreciating ourselves, Just like with that mirror analogy. And here's why, Our minds serve as our right hand person. So whatever we tell it, Its response is going to be to provide us with evidence to support whatever it is we're telling it. And it's usually that usually comes in the form of feelings. And that evidence is going to perpetuate the depreciating by helping us to hone in on all that is negative. So it's really important that we pay attention to what we feed our minds. We put a lot of emphasis on what we feed our bodies. But we put less emphasis on what we feed our minds. And it's what we feed our minds that helps us to either appreciate or depreciate. But here's the good news. If you find yourself depreciating, You can shift the depreciating to appreciating by shifting your attention. And I've got some experiments that will help by creating and how they're going to help is they're going to give you something different to do, But they're also going to help you create new neural pathways in your brain, Which is kind of cool. So experiment number one. Over the next week, I want to encourage you to pay close attention to how you respond to different situations. Make note as to whether you are in the moment depreciating or appreciating. For example, Are you complaining about something versus enjoying something? If you find yourself depreciating more than appreciating, First of all, I want to ask, Go easy, Give yourself some grace. Depreciating yourself by beating yourself up will only continue the depreciation. I want you to also I want to encourage you to also acknowledge and congratulate yourself for the awareness, Which is, By the way, In a form of appreciating. And the third thing I'd like to ask that you do as a part of this experiment is try and find one thing about the situation that you can appreciate. Maybe it's something you've learned as a result or something that you see that you don't want to repeat. Okay, That's experiment number one. Experiment number two. Well, You've probably by now heard the phrase copping an attitude of gratitude. Well, We're going to cop an attitude of appreciation with this little experiment. For the next month, Each day in the morning, Write down three things you appreciate. Then at night, I want to encourage you to write down three things you enjoyed about your day. And make note, What did you notice about your day as a result of starting it with appreciation? This is all about creating awareness. And the last experiment is appreciation using your senses. So what I'm going to ask you to do is ask yourself the question, What am I experiencing right now that I really appreciate? And then engage your senses. What do I love the smell of right now? What do I love the taste of? Sound of? Feel of? Sight of? Have fun with those experiments. Feel free to tweet them and make them your own if some parts of them don't work for you. And by the way, If you love to journal, Here are some awareness creating journal prompts that I'd like to share with you to help raise the appreciation vibe and the awareness. The first journal prompt is thinking of a situation that ticked you off recently. What did you learn from that situation that you can now appreciate? And the next journal prompt is, What are three things you appreciate about yourself? What makes you appreciate those things? Now if this, If you find this to be a tough question, I want to encourage you to lean into it and do your best to answer it. I know it's a tough question. I've often struggled with this myself and the more I do it, The less I struggle. And it really is a valuable, Valuable exercise. So please don't give up. Give it a whirl. Okay. In closing, I want to share one of my new favorite quotes from Paulo Calo where he said, The world is changed by your example, Not by your opinion. Can you imagine what this world would be like if we all led by example and appreciated ourselves, Others and situations way more than depreciated them? Just some food for thought. I want to thank you for being here. I also want to invite you to join me in the group and hashtag unstoppable mindset right here on insight timer to share your questions, Your thoughts, Your insights, And ask for support or render support. I look forward to connecting with you and keeping the mindset shifting conversations going. And in the meantime, As always, I'm sending you much peace, Much love and much light. Be well and take good care.