A new year gives a sense of new possibilities, of doing things differently.
 
One simple approach we can take in this first week of 2023 is to pay attention to what we appreciate.
 
Appreciation is powerful because it is a positive lens through which we see what is happening around us.
 
So many of us are brought up to strive for things to be better, including ourselves.
 
This can be particularly true for people working on social change or in not-for-profit organisations, where a lot of each week is spent working against injustice, inequality, and poverty. That can lead us to seeing the world and our societies (and even our own organisations) as an endless series of problems to fix.
 
Over time our default lens for viewing the world becomes negative and seeking out problems.
 
The moment, we tune our mind into appreciation we suspend that critical view, opening up a different panorama.
 
We value what is working and we value the people we work with. If you want to improve your environment, valuing people in it is a great start.
 
Nancy Kline in Time to Think suggests that every meeting finishes with people appreciating both the meeting and each other.
 
Even after the most difficult discussions I have seen that this raises the energy and gives people a sense of renewed possibility
 
Tell your colleagues what you appreciate about them and see what happens.
 
Happy New Year