Many people are unaware of the power contained within us to harness a unique force known as the power of appreciation. The power of appreciation enables us to channel our inner most thoughts to overcome any obstacle in our way. We can unleash the power of appreciation so that our lives are free of fear, worry and anxiety. Our lives will become satisfying and the rewards we seek will be manifested and we will start to enjoy every moment of our existence. Are you getting excited about knowing how to introduce the power of appreciation into your own life? If the answer is a resounding ‘Yes!’ then you should definitely read on. In reality all of us already possess the power of appreciation but as part of our ‘growing up’ most of us have been taught to concentrate our thoughts on how we go about stopping bad things happening to us. With our focus on the negative area of life we have little life energy left to direct towards attracting the good things into our lives. The art of being able to fully appreciate the benefits of the power of appreciation begins when we cast away the negativity in our lives, that is, we purposefully stop worrying about all the aspects of our existence that causes us grief. We stop being driven by our desire to improve our floundering personal relationships, our poor financial position and other negative situations. If we actively direct our mind to focus on the positive aspects of our lives, such as the simple acceptance that we live in a safe environment or own a car that works, can put our mind into the state that it needs to be in for the power of appreciation to be called into action. Look at the positive aspect of your situations rather than the negative and once it becomes second nature, and it will if you foster the concept, you will begin to enjoy the truly magical benefits in your life. You will become more content with your own being and purpose as well as becoming more understanding of others and their individual circumstances and problems. At this point it is important to understand that it is impossible to switch on and off this force because it should be seen as a constant feature in our way of life more than the occasional tool to help us when we need support. The key to the power of appreciation is to begin to truly incorporate the concept into our everyday mind set. Don’t let the simplicity of the power of appreciation fool you, as once embraced it will completely change your life and its direction in the most positive ways imaginable. Remember, the quality of your life is linked directly to the degree of your commitment to accepting that the power of appreciation is the governing force in your life. You have two distinct options available to you, firstly, you choose to feel depressed and unhappy that your life is not a level you want it to be at. Or secondly, as a contrast, you can choose to find something that you are content and appreciative about and in doing so activate the power of appreciation. How can you find something to appreciate?” This truly becomes a simple process if you just consider the following statement: ‘I appreciate the food that I eat. I appreciate the sunshine. I appreciate the relationship that I am in. I appreciate the air that I breathe. I appreciate the house that I live in. I appreciate everything in my life.’ Well, you may say “The food that rich people eat is much better than the food that I eat” or “The house that my neighbor lives in is so much more luxuriant than mine”, or “My relationship is dull and boring and lacks the excitement that we once had”. Maybe this is the case, however, it is true only because you have chosen to perceive it that way. You have the ability, through the power of appreciation, to change your perception totally. For example you are aware that in relation to what you think about the food you are eating there are millions of children through out the world who are starving and would be in awe of what you consider to be a mundane diet. Think about the relationship that you are in. Do you recall that your partner is always there for you when you need advice and guidance and all the wonderful memories you have shared over the years? Think about how lovely is feels to have a hug from someone that you have experienced so much with, and then realize that there are so many people who don’t have anyone in their life to share their memories with, not alone have the pleasure of a warm embrace. Instead of focusing on where your relationship is lacking, try focusing on what is great in your relationship and appreciate what your partner has done for you and the wonderful things that you experience. By flipping your focus the Universe will provide you with more things in your relationship to be appreciative of. Now, to activate the power of appreciation you have to purposely concentrate on holding that positive feeling of appreciation for as long as you possibly can. If you can keep the thought in the forefront of your mind on a regular basis (say 10 or 20 times each day) you are beginning to challenge the way you once thought and instead you are in a position to dramatically change your life for the better. Once it becomes a habit your life will never be the same. You will find yourself full of energy and happiness. There are always positive and negative aspects to any circumstance in your life. So now, the choice is yours to either focus on the negativities or choose to appreciate the positive aspect of what you have and who you are. By changing your focus you will find a dramatic lift in the quality of your life. As I said earlier don’t let simplicity of this idea fool you, practice invoking the power of appreciation and you will find that miracles will soon begin to occur in your life.