What Works: Showing appreciation in the present moment
Submitted by editor on Tue, 09/02/2014 - 11:15am
On Labor Day, I realized I was out of two baking staples — milk and eggs. Off to Grocery Outlet I went, with sweet potato fries in the oven, 25 minutes on the oven timer and less than one hour until I had to leave for the first potluck of two I was scheduled to attend. To say I was “on the clock” would be quite literal.
As I was heading to check out, I am stopped by a lady who recognized me from this column. She noted she had seen me across the store and was trying to figure out if I was the columnist she reads on Carson Now. I said I was. “Great job,” she smiled and said. The interaction was so short. In hindsight, I wish I hadn’t had my mind on the timer so I could have thanked her for reading and asked her what she might want to read next. But, as all great compliments do, they take us off guard. So I simply said “thank you” and whisked away to check out.
It taught me a big lesson, though. People notice and appreciate what is done around them — if they are in the present moment. She was. I wasn’t. My body was in the store but my mind was watching the oven timer tick down. Sometimes, we get so caught up in the stream of life that we are blind to what is happening around us. It’s almost like a self-imposed tunnel vision. In this tunnel, we forget to pause, notice, and appreciate what is around us. I’d like to thank that reader for pulling me back into the present and giving me inspiration for today’s column.
I am reading Deepak Chopra’s “7 Spiritual Laws of Success." In it, Chopra talks about The Law of Giving and Receiving. See, the flow of life is nothing other than the harmonious interaction of all the elements and forces that structure the field of existence. Stopping the circulation of energy is like stopping the flow of blood.
Whenever blood stops flowing, it begins to clot, to stagnate. That is why you must give and receive in order to keep wealth and affluence — or anything you want — circulating in your life. When we aren’t in the present moment we miss out on opportunities to give, receive, and prosper.
In that store, I was in a state of unconsciousness. My mind was at home watching the oven. My body was getting milk and eggs. The two were snapped back together, if only for a moment, by a simple compliment. Someone else, who was living in the present moment, recognized me and delivered a compliment.
As a result, I came back into the present moment, felt good, and was able to acknowledge my appreciation (however clumsily). Shocked into the present moment by the compliment, I stayed there throughout the rest of the day, where I was able to deliver sincere compliments and share my gifts — sometimes snapping others back into the present moment as well. I received more good messages from still others and I passed them on. Isn’t it cool that by saying a few simple words, you can have a ripple effect across dozens if not hundreds of hearts and souls?
Come with me into the present moment. After you are finished reading this column, get up, look around, and show appreciation for whatever you can. It’s a short work week. What can you do this week to create a positive ripple effect in your workplace? How can you share the gifts you have with the world? How can you take positive action in the present moment? The floor is yours, Carson City.
ABOUT DIANE HANSEN
Diane Hansen is the Chief Inspiration Officer of What Works Coaching, a coaching firm that has helped people worldwide with their businesses, careers, mindsets, and profit margins. She brings to Carson City more than 17 years of experience with a wide array of clients, ranging from top corporations, motivated entrepreneurs and individuals hungry for a fresh start. Her column appears every Monday, and sometimes Tuesday, on Carson Now.
