Firstly, I must state up front this post is more of an appreciation post than anything else. It's a reference to an original post by a writer I admire, and this serves as my notes to myself from his writing.
"How to like everything more" (on the skill of enjoyment) by Sasha Chopin.
I first read this post in January this year, and it's undeniably the most important and impactful thing I've read all year. It's resonated in my mind at least weekly, and I've re-read it at least 8 times in 2025.
The words within were a reminder to me that every small thing we're exposed to in life is an opportunity to really, truly, enjoy. And if we're going to enjoy, why not try enjoy deeply? Can we extract every drop of enjoyment out of even the seemingly most mundane or taken-for-granted experiences? What effect would that have on our quality of life? Surely if it's possible, we should explore how to? And, is it possible to learn to develop an appreciation for things that we previously didn't see as "our kind of thing"?
From the tangible to the intangible (I warn you some of these might sound silly or fluffy but I'm being serious) - a flat white, a night where stars are visible, a well presented meal, an impressively curated garden, a unique tasting wine, strange decor in a shop, precisely chosen plates by a chef, a majestic tree, a pastry that overwhelms the palate, a song that stirs emotions, a towering building, art that confuses, a view that inspires... The list is infinite. And the more polarising hobbies or experiences that we may not currently resonate with - could we develop at least a mild appreciation for them? Hunting, death metal music, weaving, CrossFit, camping, foreign language movies, watching other people play games online, K-Pop, interpretative dance, birding, collecting rare items etc etc (granted some of these are more polarising or niche than others, but you get the point).
There's essentially an unlimited number of things for us to "like" or "appreciate" in this world on a daily basis. Irrespective of cost. Natural and man-made. Tangible and intangible. Taking a conscious approach to do so is a skill that we can and should sharpen.
This ties in to what I see as an ultimate goal - being content.
If we can refine and enhance our ability to "like everything more", it allows us to get deeper joy out of what we currently experience rather than falling into the trap of believing we can get more joy out of the experiences we don't have.
Not always craving more.
Simply, being content.
A few practical highlights from Sasha's post:
- Try be as conscious as possible about each experience in the day.
- Move your attention beyond the part that you immediately focused on.
- On experiences that historically haven't been "your thing", drop resistance and adopt curiosity.
- Find mental associations with something else that means something to you. Ie. What does that song *feel* like to you? Does it remind you of anything?
- Develop an interest in the person / people behind the creation. The director, the producer, the songwriter, the craftsman, the chef, the architect, the car manufacturer, the farmer. If we can understand and appreciate their journey more deeply, we can understand and appreciate their work more deeply. Watching interviews with a director or songwriter helps me appreciate their movies and songs more. For me, God is the creator of the universe, so everytime I appreciate nature, I appreciate His works.
- Notice your body's response to it. Beautiful things in life can be viscerally calming.
- In forms of art like song and movie, be an active participant in it, even predict where it's going as if you're the creator.
- Get lost in tiny details.
- Be a time traveler - imagine discussing the thing that's captured your attention with someone in the past. Modern rap music with Tupac. Modern rock with Beatles. AI art with Matisse.
- Take a moment to internalise and take a mental snapshot of anything that strikes you. Hold it and savour it.
- Build a context. Historical art in it's current form might be less impressive than imagining it's creation within geographical and historical context of what existed at the time. If I listen to a song from the 70s or 80s I'm often mildly unimpressed because I've heard so many variations of that style since then. But if we can mentally time travel to the context of its release, it's completely different experience.
- Pretend you're a buyer or investor. Anything takes on a whole new look and sense of value if approached from perspective of ownership.
- Step away from binary "like" or "dislike". Have mental language for the nuanced emotion.
- If initial emotional response is "dislike", take a second to pause and try challenge that thought - try see it from perspective of the creator and then guage if anything changes in your emotion towards it.
- Find one flaw. I love this line from Chapin: "If conducted covertly, this particular mental habit allows you to love people more deeply and realistically, by noticing how the annoying thing about them and the great thing are fundamentally intertwined." This applies to any experience across art, music, objects, movies, food etc. Nothing is perfect, and the imperfect part complements the perfect part.
If there's one thing you do today/ this week, please read Sasha's post. Please feel free to slide into my proverbial DMs with your thoughts.
