Active Appreciation

People often say, "I can walk and chew gum." If you have a Gen-Z at home, you know they can do that and much more simultaneously. They will watch Netflix with captions turned on while listening to music on headphones, all the while texting their friends about the plot of the movie they are watching, asking you what's for dinner.?

But are we really multi-tasking or time-slicing? I am not qualified to answer this question. Still, I often wonder if we can simultaneously hold two dissimilar thoughts in our brains.?

Recently, I read a book called "What Happy People Know," by Dan Baker. While the book is similar to many self-help books on the subject (I am not a fan of self-help books), one paragraph caught my attention.?

"During active appreciation," Baker writes, "the threatening messages from your amygdala [fear center of the brain] and the anxious instincts of your brainstem are cut off, suddenly and surely, from access to your brain's neocortex, where they can fester, replicate themselves, and turn your stream of thoughts into a cold river of dread. It is a fact of neurology that the?brain cannot be in a state of appreciation and a state of fear at the same time. The two states may alternate but are mutually exclusive."

Setting aside the amygdala and neocortex talk, I focused on the phrase "active appreciation." What do I truly appreciate in my life today? Often, with the busyness of business, it's easy to assume there's little to be grateful for. So, this morning, I decided to slow down and pay attention to things I can actively appreciate and be thankful for.?

I came to the office at 6:00 AM this morning because of a customer call at 6:30. The potential customer is based in Doha, Qatar, and our sales team was in London.?

1. Walking into the office floor, it was dark and quiet but warm. I didn't have time to brew a fresh pot of coffee, but I noticed that the huge machine was ready and could make a decent cup of coffee with just a single button. I was grateful for that.?
2. As I dialed into the meeting, I saw Leighton Bellamore , Adam Watkins , and Ruben Stellman Ortiz on the call waiting for me. They prepared me so well for the meeting I knew we would have a good discussion. I appreciated their thoughtfulness in preparing me.?
3. Just as we started the meeting, the dawn broke over the hills of Silicon Valley. I could see that reflection on the big screens of the Napa conference room, which meant I could glance at the sunrise without taking my eyes off the screen. I pointed it out to the team in the Middle East, how beautiful it was.?
4. We had a great meeting (Ruben, you better close it this quarter), and towards the end, the Global CIO asked me where I was from in India. When I mentioned that I grew up in Kerala, he immediately switched to my mother tongue and started speaking in Malayalam. I don't often get to talk in that language, and having the chance to do that in a business meeting was incredibly pleasurable.?
5. As I finished the meeting and walked out in a good mood, Tony Genelza showed me his new slick Dell laptop with a keyboard and a touch screen! As we both geeked out on that, he told me he had just brewed a fresh pot of coffee!?
6. After that, I opened the Bswift app and finished my open enrollment in 3 minutes. I was incredibly grateful for all the work behind it to get this high-quality care at the best possible cost and the work Pam and our HR team put into it.?

I could go on, but I won't. The day is still young as I am typing this message. It's only 9:00 AM in California. I'm sure all these things happen on any given day, and I fail to notice them.?

Whether I believe in the theory of Dan Baker or not, this morning, I couldn't hold any negative emotions in my head. I couldn't have fear or hatred while my mind was full of gratitude.?

But active appreciation is not just about appreciating the good things in life. Instead, it's about remembering to Appreciate failures because they teach us, struggles because they strengthen us, setbacks because they increase our resolve, and adversities because they grow our skills.

After all, as the quote goes, "Pleasure is a good thing. But it is the dessert of life, not the meal." We have a choice of what we want to focus on and appreciate. Because what we appreciate, appreciates.?

Thanksgiving is a North American holiday. But, I like to think of it as a way to remind myself that I am surrounded every minute of every day with things that should make me abundantly grateful.?

Our year at ThoughtSpot was filled with extremes of everything. We had our moments of pleasure, pain, ecstasy, agony, and everything in between. Through it all, you supported each other. That is worth appreciating.?

But even more importantly, while we all work, travel, and passionately build ThoughtSpot, our family members (both humankind and non-humankind) support you, whether or not you fail to notice or appreciate them. They deserve our gratitude more than anyone else.?

As we shut down later this week in the US, I hope all of you, no matter where in the world, will take a moment to actively be grateful for the abundance of life we all have.?

I want you to know that I don't take you for granted. You choose to be here to build together. I'm grateful to you and those surrounding and supporting you to keep building our company.?

Happy Thanksgiving, all.?