Wednesday, November 17, 2010

It amazes me how the giving of compliments costs nothing, and yet so few are willing to deliver praise to those who deserve and have earned it. The difference a well-placed or even clumsy bit of expressed admiration can make is incredible. The way it ignites the receiver’s soul with an unparalleled passion. How that passion can be what’s needed to usher them through a rough time…over a hump. Or might inspire them to try just a little harder to achieve their end goal.

Why is it that many are uncomfortable with hailing the efforts or accomplishments of others? Is it really that difficult to take notice of and then say a few encouraging words to those who are worthy? If it costs the bestower nothing more than an extra second or two of their time, then why are they stingy? Wouldn’t they rather give credit where credit is due to lift the spirits of another?

Have we become a society so absorbed with ourselves that we are incapable of seeing the accomplishments of others? Or do the acknowledgements of others make some feel threatened? Like they’re not doing enough with their own lives? Or worse, is it that many have reached the point where they just don’t care?

I appreciate how, when I take notice of what others do and offer encouraging words, they beam from the attention. Stand taller. Carry themselves with more purpose. All that they gain from a sentence or two I take the time to share with them.

At first, many are caught of-guard that I’d take the time to not only notice but also to then acknowledge them. My response is always the same. I tell them that I'm a firm believer in giving praise where, when and to whom it is required.

That right there is the key—required. People need to hear praise. They thrive from it. When it is withheld, little bits of their souls wither and then die, casting off parts of themselves that might have blossomed into something grand. But without recognition, those parts don’t get the nourishment needed to carry on. If a person’s attributes or efforts are ignored often enough, then eventually that person will become a mere shell of what they once were…could have been…should have been—if only someone had taken the time to offer the praise they needed.