Showing posts with label Thanks. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Thanks. Show all posts

Sunday, January 30, 2011

THANKS


We deal with the third of the magic words in English, which we extensively use in our everyday conversation. Despite our best efforts we have to necessarily live with others and this means there is always some give and take. Therefore when we get something from others we have to be grateful and when we give, it is logical that others will be grateful in most cases. The one common way to express our sincere gratefulness is by saying THANKS which is True Honest Appreciation Nicely Kindly Shared.

It is important to note that if we say thanks as an obligation, we will neither convey our sincerity nor will we get the satisfaction of having being truthful and genuine. It is essential therefore that we should learn to appreciate the efforts and importance of others in our lives for only then can we really know their worth and contribution to our daily living. If you look back the people whom we often took for granted are our parents. They have definitely had to sacrifice so many things just to ensure that we are brought up right, given the right upbringing, education and values. They have had anxious moments when we fell sick, when we found it hard to cope with studies, when we fought with our friends and got injuries when playing; and yet did we care to tell them thanks (except perhaps when they obliged you or gave you some gifts). Perhaps we also felt foolish saying thank you to them, but thanks can be also expressed in many other ways.

While saying thanks aloud is the easiest way of expressing our sentiments, there are so many other ways to convey our thanks. A spontaneous gift in appreciation is both a token of love and thanks. Remember the little gifts we gave our lover for no particular reason than to say I love you and also to convey our thanks for their presence in our lives. A hug and a kiss are also demonstrative ways of saying thanks. If you don’t hug your parents and siblings you are missing a wonderful opportunity to express yourself fully to them. Picking up the phone and chatting with a friend is another way of saying how much you value them in your life. Speaking well of people when talking to others is perhaps a very subtle and much appreciated form of conveying your thanks about the person being spoken about. There is nothing like a personal visit with no personal agenda that conveys genuine thanks to the people you visit. Do you any particular school teacher who has had a profound positive impact on your life? Have you ever visited them after leaving school and just told them how much you value them? 

We have ample opportunities in daily life to display our upbringing and manners and motivating others by saying thanks. It could be someone who helped you pick up something you have dropped or it could be the cab driver who was courteous and professional in his work or it could be a colleague who went out of his/ her way to help you meet a deadline. Of course each day is incomplete without a word of thanks to the almighty without whose blessings our life would be meaningless and incomplete.   We can express our thanks to the almighty too in various ways mostly commonly in the form of prayers but also in strictly following rituals or in just living a good and holy life. The key to saying THANKS is in expressing it as a True Honest Appreciation Nicely Kindly Shared. 

Action Points: 
  1. Make a list of people who have had a major influence on your life and whom you would like to thanks. Outline a plan of action by using the learning from above to express your thanks to them.
  2. Try to identify at least 3 people whom you meet during the course of the day who could do with some appreciation and you must make it a point to thank them genuinely for what they do well, even if it is them simply doing their job.eg.it could be the postman or a courteous bus conductor or the waiter in the restaurant.
 Power Act - from http://www.actspot.com/ is focused on -
Powering your Spirit to ACT Now.
You are also invited to visit our DAILY inspirational and motivational blog http://www.actspot.wordpress.com/

Monday, March 1, 2010

PRAISE


Even as I write this post, I can’t help but think about the varied feedback that I get for the posts particularly on the sister blog of this one www.actspot.wordpress.com To my mind the comments are actually their way of expressing themselves and giving me a feedback. More often than not they are appreciative of the posts and I value their comments because it is actually PRAISE a simple acronym for People Recognizing Achievement In Someone Everytime. By the way the number of followers who join in here, also signify PRAISE because they wouldn't be following if they didn't appreciate the contents of this blog.
Who would not like to be recognized?  It is a human craving and one that is rarely satisfied because it is also a human frailty that ‘we are quick to condemn but very slow to praise’.  Praise is not just an acknowledgement of an achievement or effort. It is going beyond that and expressing a feeling of personal envy, a sharing of regret that perhaps we who praise are inadequate to deliver in the same manner and an expression that you beat our expectations.  Perhaps that is also the reason why more often than not, we temper praise with criticism or give praise very reluctantly. We cannot forget that we also have personal preferences, biases and peeves, all of which have a bearing on the evaluation and consequent feedback.
What about the one receiving praise? The common tendency is to be extremely modest and state that we are undeserving of the lavish praise bestowed on us. This comes from a feeling that we are expected to do our best and so it is but natural that the outcome was good. There is also the possibility that we are still brooding over a minor glitch or bleep in an otherwise perfect act and that in our opinion overshadows the net effect of the achievement. The fact that we are taught to be subdued and humble in triumph, prone to deflect attention from us to others and not comfortable holding centre stage, adds to our distinct uneasiness, when the spotlight is trained on us and PRAISE is generously heaped on us.

Is praise a rare compliment? Most of us go through life feeling that praise has to be given only for some extraordinary achievements. Reality is that praise is the fuel that fires the spirit of achievement, drive and enthusiasm in any human being. Nothing spurs on an individual as much as PRAISE and we have ample opportunities to give praise every single day to almost everyone we meet. It must be genuine and not a put on act, with an ulterior motive of winning the others favor. You can praise a person’s smart dress sense, appreciate his /her punctuality and commitment, share with others a significant achievement or success that a person has attained or simply appreciate the warmth and pleasant temperament of the person. You do not require special occasions or significant moments to express praise. Simply calling up a person and telling him/ her that you missed talking to them or meeting them is PRAISE ; for you are saying how much you value them and their companionship.  A small miss you card, sending an email to a long lost friend and even adding friends on your social network account are ways of telling people that you praise them for being a part of your friends circle.
Action Points:
  1. Starting now pick up you cell phone or landline and call up at least 5 people whom you haven’t been in touch with over the last one month. Alternatively, write an email to 5 people with whom you haven’t been in touch but have always meant to keep in touch with. Check your social network account and see whose birthday is around the corner and make it a point to send a birthday greeting to them and if possible call them up and wish them too.
  2. How about listing out 5 of your favorite teachers from school or college ; colleagues or bosses from a previous work place or someone who has left your work place. Can you make the effort to reach them and talk to them or better still send them a small note appreciating their role in shaping your career / destiny.  Experience the pleasure you get out of it too.
  3. Make it a practice to PRAISE at least 2 people whom you meet in the day.  Sound sincere and not artificial as if you are doing it as part of a forced project work. Initially you might feel uncomfortable but remember you need to start somewhere.
Power Act - from http://www.actspot.com/ is focused on -
Powering your Spirit to ACT Now.
You are also invited to visit our daily inspirational and motivational blog http://www.actspot.wordpress.com/