Gratitude is wisdom, some say it's a way of calling more unto ourselves. It's not easy for someone to make things happen, even if it looks little I bet you, you don't know what the person went through in order to make it a reality. Appreciation brings refreshment to the soul, it's like cold water given to someone thirsty on a hot day.
A few years ago, a friend of mine left a school where he was teaching not because he was not been paid but because his proprietress lacked how to appreciate the effort of her workers. He told me how he overworks himself, spending extra hours at the place of work just to ensure that things remain checked, instead of the woman appreciating him, she always complains that her staff are not doing anything.
One funny thing is, she doesn't even pay him for the extra hours that he spends working for her but that's not his concern, if only she would just for once acknowledge his work and say thank you, he doesn't have a problem. we can not fully pay anyone for the services which they render unto us. But one currency from the coffer of thank You can cover for it all.
A lot of families are having problems today because of lack of appreciation, a lot of friendship ended because of lack of appreciation. It costs nothing to say thank you, it costs nothing to say good things when you see one. In some families, the wife never sees the effort of her man, no matter what he does or brings to the table, she always complains and sometimes it's the husband, who doesn't just see the effort of the wife. If you can't appreciate someone, no matter how much you try to be nice to them you will fail because you have already painted them black.
While I was growing up my parents taught me this from home, if you finished eating, you must stand up and say thank you to both of them. I grew up with that character, and I never knew the implications until when I went to work in Abuja. The first day my boss brought food for me, I said "Thank you, sir," when I returned home, I still appreciated his wife and washed the dishes.
I never knew that I opened doors of love and more food unto myself with those two words. I could see the joy on their faces whenever I said thank you for the meal, so I never stopped saying that. To cut the story short, the supply of food never stopped coming and even if it was inconvenient for his wife, she still finds her way to get some for me. Now imagine, I didn't know how to show appreciation to people, would I have enjoyed all those benefits? Certainly no.
You see people love to be appreciated, appreciation is just like saying, wow! Your work is beautiful, I love it, You are the best, and so on. lol! But that's my own picture of the stuff. Appreciation is another special way of showing love. We love praises. This is why when a student takes the first position and he or she is given a prize, next term the student will still put more effort into taking that position again. The person at the receiving end of appreciation gets energized. The words thank you, excellent, great, nice, and the like are magical, it may sound casual to you but the person receiving it is seeing something bigger.
Take another instance on hive, most hivian gives their best, (time snd dedication) to communities where they feel appreciated, sometimes even if they dont get big upvotes but good remarks from moderators makes them feel loved and so they just stay there and make it a home.
Lack of appreciation only means one thing, you are not satisfied with what the person is offering, and the downside of that is, that the person will be demotivated and will eventually give up on doing that very thing even if he or she is doing it well.
Another thing we must also know is that apart from the verbal way of showing appreciation, there are other ways, it could be through the presentation of gifts and proper payment. If you really want to commend the effort of someone who works for you for instance, give the person what he or she deserves and it will be more powerful if you add the word thank you to it.
Some people find this very difficult to do. Sometimes people don't necessarily care about the money alone, I repeat sometimes hehhe, let them know that you are grateful for what they did and it will keep their faces glowing. Next time if you ask for the same favour they will do it without a second thought.
So, I implore you today, let's learn how to appreciate people, even if it's little that they do. In fact, the best way to get someone to do something better is to praise him/her first, then show them their errors. Try this method and see how people around you will change drastically.
Learn to say thank you, to people, learn to appreciate what others do, learn to appreciate your children, your spouse, friends, and so on, it's not easy to get a thing done. When we appreciate the little people offer unto us, they will try to do a bigger one next time.
As simple as appreciation looks, its presence can strengthen relationships and its absence can ruin it.
