It’s the
perfect time of year to be thankful…
Even in
the midst of the greatest difficulties you will experience in life, you
can find things for which you are truly grateful.
In fact,
if you take a piece of paper and begin to write down the parts of your life you
are grateful for…
You may
be amazed at how many items appear on your list.
With the
holiday season upon us, it’s a great time to show appreciation to coworkers,
employees, and loved ones. By developing an attitude of gratitude, you
will become warmer, friendlier, and increase your own self-esteem.
An
attitude of gratitude causes you to be more sensitive and aware of people
around you. The more gratitude you have, the more gratitude you express, the better
and more positive your personality is, the higher your self-esteem becomes, the
more popular and liked you are by all the people around you.
Different
Ways to Show Gratitude
Over the
holidays, develop the habit practicing the four A’s:
- Appreciation
- Approval
- Admiration
- Attention
I’m going
to show you how to show appreciation in every part of your life by practicing
these four A’s…
The habit
of feeling and expressing gratitude to people, for all of the things in your
life that you should be grateful for, has a wonderful effect on your
personality.
How to
Make Others Feel Important
One of
the deepest needs in human nature is to feel valuable and important.
By
developing an attitude of gratitude, you begin doing everything possible to
raise the person’s self-esteem and help them to like themselves even more.
You should imagine this holiday
season that every person is wearing a sign around his or her neck, all day
long, that says, ‘‘Make me feel important.’’
In every
interaction with every single person, you should respond to this basic human
request. You should always be looking for ways to make people feel important
and valuable as parts of your life.
Since the
holidays are beginning, it is also a good time to take a moment for yourself
and decide right now what you want to learn and take action.
How To Show Appreciation Using The Four A’s
There are four key behaviors that you can practice over the
holidays, and every day after to make people feel important.
They all begin with the letter A:
1) Appreciation
Have an attitude of gratitude and take every opportunity over
the holiday season to thank each person for everything that he or she does,
small or large, in the process of carrying out their duties.
Every time you develop an attitude of gratitude and say, ‘‘Thank you,’’ to a person, 3 major things
happen:
- Their self-esteem
goes up.
- They feel
better and more valuable.
- They’re even more
motivated to do more of the things for which they received appreciation in
the first place.
2) Approval
The second way to make people feel valuable over the holiday
season is to express approval.
Give praise and approval on every occasion, for every
accomplishment of whatever size. Give praise for every good effort. Give praise
for every good suggestion or idea. Especially, praise people when they do
something that goes above and beyond the call of duty.
- Praise immediately
- Praise
specifically
- Praise regularly
Whenever you praise people, they experience it physically and
emotionally. Their self-esteem rises and they feel happy inside. And whatever
you praise gets repeated. In fact, the definition of self-esteem is, ‘‘The
degree to which a person feels himself or herself to be praiseworthy.’’
3) Admiration
The third self-esteem building behavior you can practice is
admiration.
As Abraham
Lincoln said, ‘‘Everybody likes a compliment.’’
Continually compliment people on their traits, such as
punctuality and persistence.
This holiday season, compliment people on their accomplishments,
both at work and in their private lives. Every time you admire something about
another person, you raise that person’s self-esteem and make them feel happier.
4) Attention
The fourth behavior, perhaps the most important of all over the
holiday season, is the behavior of attention.
This simply means that you:
- Listen patiently
- Listen quietly
- Listen calmly
- Listen
thoughtfully
- Listen without
interrupting
True listeners hear what’s being said to them.
Be Thankful Over The Holidays
Over the holiday season, think of the wonderful experiences
you’ve had in the past, the lessons you’ve learned, the books you’ve read, the
movies you’ve seen, the songs you’ve heard, and the foods you have eaten.
Think of the places that you have visited and the experiences
that you have had in your travels and work.
Look back over the years that have passed and look at the years
ahead.
Think about the opportunities you have lying ahead of you, and
you will be amazed at how many things you have in your life for which you can
be truly grateful.
Things You Can Always Be Grateful For…
No matter what your condition, you can be grateful for all of
your senses, for the miracles of sight, sound, touch, taste, smell, and
feeling. You can be thankful for the functioning of your body and for the
health of your limbs. You can be grateful for the incredible gift of the life
that you have lived up until now, and the great life that lies ahead of you.
Take the Time to Reflect
During the holidays while sitting alone in your room, think
about your current blessings and of reasons to be truly grateful.
Develop an attitude of gratitude and practice the four A’s
to show your gratitude towards your loved ones, coworkers, and employees.
Our thanks to Brian Tracy.
