Mike Robbins was living out his boyhood dreams as a professional baseball player for the Kansas City Royals. Then at the age of 23, he sustained an injury that ended his career but also gave him a fresh new perspective on life. "The one regret that I had had nothing to do with any of the games that I had lost or mistakes I'd made on the field—it was just that I didn't fully appreciate it while it was happening," he says. Jean talks with Mike about ways to put the power of appreciation and gratitude in action and start living a fuller, happier life today.

Appreciate yourself. Appreciating your strengths is the foundation for appreciating life, Mike says. It shouldn't be confused with arrogance. "If we don't appreciate ourselves, it's very difficult to accept the appreciation of any one else or really to attract a whole lot of success into our lives," Mike says.

Confront the negativity in your life. Shift your focus away from the negative, fearful messages you may be getting from the media, other people and your own mind. In the workplace, this can include complaining and gossiping. "Notice that the more you focus on what you don't like and what you're complaining about, a) it doesn't get any better and b) it often makes things worse," Mike says.

Pay attention to what you're paying attention to. To shift your focus to the positive side of life, consider keeping a gratitude journal or talking at family meals about things you're grateful for. "We all have a choice—we're not victims of our lives, we're not victims of our circumstances," Mike says. "We can consciously choose to focus on the good stuff and it makes a big difference."

• Focus on the Good Stuff: The Power of Appreciation by Mike Robbins