Trade Your Expectation for Appreciation
Written By Bryce Smith
Tony Robbins has famously brought to light a wonderful concept when he says, “Exchange your expectation for appreciation and your world changes instantly.” I want to share with you all an eye-opening story.
Just the other day I was getting off of a plane and there was a gentleman a few rows ahead who seemed trapped in his row as people hurriedly rushed by him. Mind you, this was a red eye flight with a ton of turbulence and so many of the people on the flight were a bit agitated after having not slept all night. I, myself had taken an Uber to the airport around 3:30am, and then boarded a flight around 5am or so and landed at my destination around 7:30am. Not to mention, I flew on an airline that is notorious for having very small seats and I literally sat cramped with my knees jammed into the seat in front of me so I was not a happy camper. I spent the entire three-hour flight tossing and turning while repeating frustration after frustration in my head. So as you can see, minimal sleep was had so you can understand why people wanted to get off of that flight in a hurry.
Nevertheless, although I also wanted off of that plane, I noticed the man seemingly stuck in his row and I immediately stopped, causing those behind me to bump into me and become immediately annoyed, and said, “After you sir.” He calmly responded by saying he could not walk and he must wait until everyone exits the plane so he could be escorted on a wheelchair. He said this in the calmest voice and the biggest smile on his face. I was in absolute awe. We wished each other a great day and each went our separate ways.
After spending the last three or four hours complaining about my circumstances and “expectations” for things to be a certain way, I immediately decided to exchange my expectation for appreciation. This was an incredibly eye opening experience for me. We arrived a little before 8am and I needed to head to work for the day.
A few hours before, I was feeling sorry for myself and wishing I had taken the day off of work. Now I was thankful that I could feel uncomfortable as that man wishes he could use and feel his legs. I was thankful that I get to train and work with amazing individuals each day at Invictus. Sometimes we get so caught up with seeing the challenges in our lives or in our training that we forget to be thankful that we can train day in and day out. This wonderful man set the tone and enabled me to open my eyes to the amazing life I get to live. From that day forward I have decided to live with appreciation rather than expectation and it has been an absolute game changer.
I hope many of you can read this and implement this golden nugget in to your life and your training and watch as you blossom as both an athlete and human. If you have ever experienced something similar in your life, please share your story in the comments below.
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