Happy Appreciation Day

The week of Thanksgiving 2020, I stumbled on a podcast episode that would literally change my life. The host — who speaks to farmers selling their products direct-to-consumers — said that a daily appreciation practice was vital to success in marketing. It was not the marketing hack I was expecting.

Now, for context… I was at a low point, mental health-wise at this time. I think a lot of us were in 2020. And further, I would have described myself as a cynical person by nature. Particularly when it came to climate change and the many issues surrounding and contributing to it. I was frustrated thinking that most of our recycling is not actually recycled. That a significant portion of greenhouse-gas-producing groceries are left to rot in dumpsters. That our tax dollars are funneled to giant corn-and-soy agribusinesses that are quickly depleting the topsoil across the midwest. And the efforts to correct these problems that I heard about felt small and insignificant.

Nothing felt like enough.

So that’s sort of the starting point. 2020. Covid. Sad and cynical.

I started doing a daily appreciation practice. I resolved to list just 10 things a day I appreciate. It was one small thing I knew I could stick to every day.

It started probably the way you’d expect. “I appreciate my husband, my son, my parents, my home, my friends, etc.” The greatest hits. The easiest things to cultivate a feeling of appreciation for. But over time, as I sort of stretched to see what else beyond the obvious I could appreciate, so as to not repeat myself so often, something truly profound happened. I started intentionally appreciating things that would normally drive me nuts and fill me with a sense of “what’s wrong with the world.”

Instead of stewing in frustration about food waste, landfills, and my unhealthy diet, I wrote things like:

“I appreciate the wide variety of food I have access to.”

“I appreciate these disposable baby wipes.”

“I appreciate this frozen pizza.”

There were lots of easy-to-feel-good-about things on the lists, like “I appreciate how much my husband and baby make me smile on a daily basis” and “I appreciate all the love and support my family gives me.” But more and more, simply finding a way to put the words “I appreciate” in front of harder-to-feel-good-about circumstances totally reframed how I felt about them. It was like an antidote to my natural cynicism.

Here are some actual examples from that first year:

“I appreciate how fast Amazon delivery is.”

“I appreciate how hard it is to make decisions.”

“I appreciate that it’s harder to be appreciative when you’re not feeling well.”

“I appreciate the effort it takes to get up and go to work.”

“I appreciate the lessons I’m learning from the mistakes I make.”

“I appreciate that getting pulled over resulted in my husband and I going for a walk together.” Yeesh. Don’t remember that one.

Now I have 4 notebooks filled with things I appreciate, and my practice has shifted to be less regimented and more integrated into my daily life. But I believe the three years of physically writing the words “I appreciate” followed by all manner of things, actually retrained my brain to see what I appreciate, what’s good, what’s working, in addition to… let’s just say what could stand to be improved, ha! And seeing what’s good and what’s working allows me to see what could use improvement with a lighter heart that actually enables me to take small steps toward those improvements.

Because of this daily practice, it’s much easier to feel appreciation and hope over cynicism and dispair.

Has it made marketing easier? You bet, ha! If ever there were something to be cynical about, it’s marketing, amIright?

But I appreciate the reason to communicate with the wider world about the experiences I’m having, the things I’m learning, and the products I’m creating. And guess what, I appreciate when companies communicate the things they have that I want! I appreciate when other farmers, small business owners, and creators share what they’re doing, and what they have to offer.

I appreciate the vulnerability it takes to share what you create with strangers, acquaintances, and even close friends and family. I appreciate the time, and work, and courage it takes to get all that out into the world — to market. I appreciate the opportunities it gives me to grow and contribute some small solutions.

And I appreciate you reading this, whoever you may be ;)

Cheers.