Learning to Appreciate :)

“Wow! You did a great job”; “Superb, cool work”; “Thank you, it was very helpful”. How often do we hear all these sentences? May be once in a complete day, or sometimes not even that. We neither get appreciation, nor we appreciate others, in fact we don’t even hear others appreciating others.

As an individual, I honestly accept that I have also not done my part of appreciating people in my life. But trust me appreciating someone is a virtue. It brings about amazing change in everyday life.

Let me give you a real life example for how much ‘appreciating’ helps in bringing up a child. I know two kids (boys) who are around two years old now. One of them is brought up in family environment where his mother stays with him all the time. He spends his evenings with his aunties, uncles and grandparents. He also goes to a play school for two hours in the morning where he spends time with his peer group. The boy receives constant appreciation for whatever little job he does. Every first initiative he takes in talking, playing, and learning, the people around him clap hands and encourage him. He feels so good at the sight of someone clapping that he smiles and works hard on the activity more effectively.

The other kid whom I know lives with a babysitter at home. Both the parents go for work and come back only at late hours. The kid does not go out anywhere. The only time he spends is with his babysitter who does not even speak the baby’s native language. He does not have anyone to appreciate him. The little time his parents spend with him, they just play with him and carry on with their own work.

I could see tremendous difference in these two kids. The former one is highly pro active. He talks in sentences in an early stage. His grasping and understanding power is very high. Most importantly he is a people’s person. He loves being around with people and continuously interacts with them. He understands words, games and things around him. The later (sadly the one who never got any appreciation) is a little dull. He has still not started talking complete words. Even when left to play with kids, he still plays all by himself. He does not go to people and his grasping power about the things you teach him is less.

This is just an example of how appreciating is important. Not just kids; let it be a mother, father, friend, life partner and coworker. We always fail to acknowledge the work others have done. When we appreciate others; we indirectly feel very good at heart. It is a small piece of encouragement that you provide the other person. A small gesture from your end can create a big impact in the other person’s life. You can make your mom happy by simply appreciating the food she cooks for you. You can make your life partner feel good by appreciating the small things he/she does for you. When it comes to your friends, there are numerous things you can appreciate them for.

Appreciating others for their efforts is very good habit. Once you start this, you will eventually feel very good about yourself. You will feel your life style turning more positive and replenished. After all, you don’t have to pay to appreciate peoples work, all you need is a good heart! J