Cultivating an appreciation practice is the secret to inviting magic into your life! Plus research shows that feeling awestruck is also good for your health and can even help reduce inflammation. 

Whenever I focus on the little things, like sipping my matcha latte with the morning sun streaming through the window or feeling the crisp air on my walks in the woods, my daily existence has more meaning and depth. 

Although equally important, this is different from a gratitude practice, which we hear about especially at this time of year. Gratitude is about being thankful for something or someone. Appreciation flips the script from what’s wrong to what’s right. It connects you to your heart and increases optimism.

Appreciation also sets the foundation for you to invite abundance into your life, creating more opportunities for those special moments that just make you feel good. Once you cultivate an appreciative mindset, you’ll see your everyday life with a fresh set of eyes.

Ideas to Help You Appreciate the Little Things

• Pay attention to the tiny details in your day-to-day life like the smell of fresh flowers, the colorful produce, the warm shower, the way your body moves, the feeling of fresh, clean sheets. When you tune into these experiences, you’ll start seeing the magic throughout the day.
• Notice when you light up inside. Observe how your body responds. Be aware of when your shoulders drop, you crack a smile, you get that warm fuzzy feeling, or anything else that makes you feel alive.
• And my favorite way to cement this appreciation mindset into a way of life, write it down! Start with one thing each day that gives you a moment of joy. Then journal about it. Do it the next day and the next. Challenge yourself not to repeat anything exactly.

Try it and see how suddenly the ordinary moments seem extraordinary!