The deepest principle in human nature is the craving to be appreciated.
– William James
Some people think appreciation will make people prouder and they won’t be as efficient as they are now.
Are you one of those people?
Well, I understand you must’ve based your thoughts on previous experiences.
Maybe some people do show off and get too proud when you praise them.
But what if they do amazing job, every day and no one appreciates them?
How would they feel?
Will they continue being so efficient?
I don’t think so.
You see, being appreciated or valued is a basic human need.
It says – I recognise you are working hard. I appreciate your dedication. You helped me with xyz when I needed it the most. I value you. Your help meant so much to me, I am grateful for your support.
Imagine someone says this to you
How’d you feel?
Warm fuzzy feelings of joy? Happiness? Awe maybe…
Or you could also get uncomfortable and not know how to react
Okay maybe you need to practice being comfortable and responding with kindness when someone appreciates you
But even if you get uncomfortable,maybe deep down you still want to be recognised. You want to be valued and appreciated for your efforts.
When someone says “thank you for doing this for me,I really appreciate that” you might think.. “well.. that’s okay… we’ve been friends for like 6 years and so of course I’d do this for you”
True
But does hearing “thank you” not put you in a happy mood?
Aren’t you more likely to pay the positivity forward and help two other people that day?
Because you got rewarded for you behaviour (in a way)
So yes!
That’s pretty much it.
Genuinely appreciating people makes their day! They are more likely to cherish the feeling and pay it forward.
That’s why you need to appreciate people for what they’ve done for you or even if you see them working hard or notice something good about them. Few kind words can go a long way.
Scientists studied different gratitude interventions to find out which one was more effective –
The gratitude visit was found to be most effective.
Okay so what do you do in this?
You simply write a gratitude letter to someone whom you haven’t properly thanked before. Someone who has really helped you during your hard times or done so much for you but you somehow couldn’t properly thank them. (Yes, it’s the person you’re think about right now)
So you write the letter and you go to their home and personally deliver this. You read out the letter to them.
Research has found that this practice also has significant impact on their relationship. Even after 6 months of giving the letter.
Hmm. Impressive.
Okay so this is kind of a funfact
There are two meanings of the word appreciate
First is – To recognise how good someone or something is and to value that particular person or thing.
And second is – to increase in value. (it’s the opposite of depreciate. Which means to decrease)
Sounds logical huh?
That when you appreciate something in someone that behaviour or emotion increases.
Even complimenting someone is appreciating them.
Which of the following compliments would you like to hear?
A. Hey nice dress!
B. Good job!
C. Hey! I really liked your presentation. They way you explained xyz was commendable. The concept of abc that you stated was wonderful! I didn’t knew about it before. I can see you worked really hard on your presentation.
Okay so this is a objective question.
Maybe not everyone will have the same answer.
But mostly everyone likes the option C.
I mean it’s much better when you exactly state what you liked and genuinely appreciate.
Okay so that’s all for now. I can go on and on about this topic. But I need to stop.
I hope you found this article helpful π
Lemme know are your thoughts on the subject?
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