Practice Uncommon Appreciation

Jack Canfield's Success Principle #53

Mother Teresa once said, There is more hunger for love and appreciation in this world than for bread. Today's lesson focuses on the power of expressing gratitude to others.

Understand the power of appreciation...and the lack of it.
Most employees, when asked, will tell their supervisors that the most important way to motivate them is to express appreciation. Unfortunately, most supervisors list appreciation low on their list of priorities. Many people in positions of leadership focus more on productivity than on employee satisfaction.

Nearly fifty percent of people leave their jobs because they feel unappreciated. I don't have the statistics to prove it, but I'd be willing to say that many spouses leave marriages for the same reason.

If we want to be successful at work and in our relationships, we must learn to master the art of appreciation. It doesn't cost us much, other than a few moments of our time.

There are three kinds of appreciation.
The brain takes in information in three different ways: auditory, visual, and kinesthetic. People receive gratitude via these pathways, with one of them being foremost for each individual.

Auditory people like to hear our appreciation. If we take the time to stop and speak to them, they are thrilled.

Visual people prefer to receive something that they can look at for a long time. They enjoy love letters, cards, flowers, plaques, certificates, gifts, and pictures.

Kinesthetic people need to feel our appreciation. They enjoy a hug, a handshake, a pat on the back, a massage, or time spent doing something active with them.

If we want to become a pro at expressing appreciation, we should learn which type people like. We can ask them to describe the most memorable expression of gratitude they have ever received. Their answer will help us to determine whether they are primarily auditory, visual, or kinesthetic receivers.

Master the perfect combination.
If we aren't sure which form of apprection a person likes best, we can combine all three. A pat on the back, a sincere compliment, plus a gift or card can help us to make our point.

As a teacher, I observed pretty quickly that students responded better to compliments than they did to criticism. My first year of trying to deal with inner-city children was a disaster. The teachers around me had no respect for these little people whose mothers were prostitutes and whose fathers were inmates. I had no one to model appreciation toward students.

The following year, I was blessed with a position in the same building as our county's Teacher of the Year. His kindergarten classroom was a quiet hum of activity. I observed students playing with live bunnies, listening to auditory books, and building with blocks. There were no fights breaking out over the sandbox or squabbles over the baby dolls. What was he doing differently?

As I observed this amazing man at work, I suddenly realized that he had a great deal of respect for the kids...the same inner-city mix I had encountered the year before. He was down on the floor, crawling on his hands and knees with them. With smiles and pats on the back, he expressed gratitude for their outstanding behavior with tokens that they could later trade for small rewards.

The Teacher of the Year understood Jack Canfield's principle of expressing uncommon appreciation. I immediately adopted this same practice with my students, and I was amazed by the turn-around. When I built up the kids with appreciation, they became incredibly eager to please me more. They actually enjoyed behaving well, because it earned them my respect, love, and appreciation.

Give thanks to others and to God.
Successful people practice thanking others, as well as thanking God for the blessings he gives. Paul wrote in I Thessalonians 5:16-18, Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. We are called to thank God and to appreciate others, even when things are not going perfectly for us. By remaining in a grateful mindset, we attract others to us. We also attract more of God's blessings.

Today's Challenge
Put an index card into your purse or pocket today. Every time you express appreciation to someone, put a checkmark on the card. Don't go to sleep tonight until you have expressed gratitude to at least 10 people. Repeat this daily until it becomes a habit.

Jack Canfield, America's #1 Success Coach, is founder of the billion-dollar book brand Chicken Soup for the Soul© and a leading authority on Peak Performance and Life Success. If you're ready to jump-start your life, make more money, and have more fun and joy in all that you do, get your FREE success tips from Jack Canfield now at: www.FreeSuccessStrategies.com