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Monday, October 5, 2015

The Secret of Appreciation


We heard the news that Disneyland is raising their prices. This is really bad news for me because I bought the premium passes for Angela and I last Valentine's day and I was hoping I could do this again this year. We love Disneyland! I understand that at their current prices they still have overcrowding and something needs to be done. Last time I was there I waited in line for 20 min to try a Disney corndog for the first time. (Personally I was underwhelmed but that's another story.) I can't help but picture the meeting to raise prices going exactly like the scene in Jurassic Park were the lawyer suggests coupon day.

Video found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pP5CdRiY8Ak

We have done a lot since my last blog post. We have had a girl's night and we went to see Billy Joel in San Francisco. Angela and I have been playing and having a lot of fun and we could not be happier people. Maybe my next blog post will be about our adventures in San Fran but for now I want to talk about something very important to my happiness that I haven't really touched on in my blog much; appreciation.
My mom used to tell me I was really good at cleaning. Whenever there was a mess she would praise my ability to clean and organize things. Yes, I did have a natural knack for it but what really motivated me was this praise. Soon I would look forward to cleaning my room because I felt fulfillment in being able to actually be good at something and as a kid you don't have many things you feel you can do as good as adults.

To this day I love to organize, our apartment is filled with little tubs labeled and put away. I have had several people tell me "Hey when are you coming over to my house to help me organize?" Another great thing that my wife does is she has carried over this praise of my ability to clean. Every time I unload the dishwasher or do our laundry Angela will tell me how wonderful I am. It's taken me a long time to realize this is not normal practice. When people do well on a regular basis people get complacent and start taking them for granted.
I think a lot of people are drawn to nitpick because it makes them feel superior. It puts them on a pedestal to tell someone else all the wrong things they are doing and leave out the good. It takes a strong person to tell someone they are doing well because that puts them on equal ground and people like to take the high ground whenever they can.

Which brings me to the secret of appreciation; it's to not take this high ground. People don't take the high ground because they are bad people they do this because it makes them feel more comfortable. People want to fix flaws but hardly ever take the time to see what they or others are doing well and I am so glad Angela and I don't nitpick.