Last week’s Thought for the Week was; “The Balance of Thanks” which was about how we show our thanks and appreciation.
You can see all of my previous blogs HERE
Last week, I left you with this quote …
“When we give cheerfully and accept gratefully, everyone is blessed.”
– Maya Angelou –
[World-renowned author best known for her unique and pioneering autobiographical writing style]
So, following on from last week, I have been giving a lot of thought around how we accept gratefully, i.e., appreciation from others, gifts and compliments etc!
For example; when someone thanks us verbally, in a genuine way, for something we have done for them, we can tell that they really do appreciate it. We will feel happy they are happy and will probably respond with a simple “You’re welcome” or similar.
That will feel right for many, but not for everyone (for instance; many more tend to be more reserved and / or less confident and may even feel embarrassed in situations like that – even if they are happy the other person is happy!)
Going back to my 20’s (a long time ago now and my memory still serves me well!) I used to feel embarrassed when someone gave me a compliment. It’s only when I trained to be a counsellor that I realised that a compliment is actually a gift. People take the time and trouble to pay us a compliment and they don’t have to!
In fact, as we get busier and busier in our daily lives, people often forget to give compliments and show appreciation, even if they intended to.
So, it can be quite rare to receive a compliment, or for someone to go out of their way to show their gratitude and appreciation. And that is a real gift and also needs to be accepted with gratitude.
If someone gives us a physical gift, it’s unlikely we would give it back or cast it aside in front of them, so why would we do that with a compliment?
“Accepting a compliment isn’t a violation of humility. It’s an expression of gratitude for an act of kindness.
Deflecting undermines the gesture—and discourages them from praising others. Even if you’re struggling to believe it, saying thanks shows that you value their words”.
-Adam Grant-
[Organizational psychologist and bestselling author who explores the science of motivation, generosity, original thinking, and rethinking. Adam Grant has been Wharton’s top-rated professor for 7 straight years]
- How do you show your gratitude to others?
- How do you receive thanks and appreciation?
- How do you receive gifts?
- How do you receive compliments?
- When was the last time you gave someone a compliment?
If you haven’t already, l would like to invite you to book a free consultation with me if you’d like to explore this further for your team or yourself. Choose your slot HERE
Have a great week and I’ll be in touch again soon with more thoughts and tips.
With best wishes,
