Often, the simplest ideas are the deepest to fully grasp and utilize …
Appreciation: gratitude; thankful recognition or the act of estimating the qualities of things and giving them their proper value.
Stuart Scott on appreciating a baby’s cry – “Being on a plane … and hearing a baby crying. That’s the sound of life, man. Moms: Stop apologizing for your kid crying – he or she has a right to be there. I love to revel in the beauty of a baby’s cry.” (pg. 26 in Every Day I Fight)
On the surface, many moments can be viewed as a hinderance. Though the higher you get on the appreciation spectrum – you appreciate all moments. You realize that adversity builds character, hard work leads to greatness, mishaps are lessons, and even that every-day disturbances are signs of the beauty of life. Stuart Scott, whose personal defeat of cancer he explains in his book Every Day I Fight, is a man who ascended this appreciation spectrum. Be like Stuart. Go beyond the surface.
Stuart Scott – “I can’t tell you how much I loved traveling with Taelor … One time, I was in a stall in the ESPN bathroom when a couple colleagues walked in – to this day, I don’t know who they were. One said, ‘Wife’s going out of town this weekend, leaving our two-year-old with me; what am I going to do?’ … ‘Yeah, my wife did that to me once,’ the other dude said. ‘I didn’t know what to do all weekend.’ … I was sitting there on the toilet thinking, ‘What is wrong with you guys? You can’t stay with your own kid?’ I wanted to smack them.” (pg. 103 in Every Day I Fight)
Take note of where you fall on the appreciation spectrum. Perhaps you’re closer to the dudes in Scott’s story who view the work of taking care of their child in a negative light. Or perhaps you’re closer to Scott who viewed the efforts to spend time with his child as memorable. Similar to the idea that nobody is truly 100% open-minded, everybody has room to appreciate moments more. Don’t wait until something life-changing or tragic happens to develop that perspective – Develop it now & utilize that perspective to ascend the appreciation spectrum.