Sharing your appreciation is so much bigger than just “being nice”. When someone feels cared for and appreciated, they feel like their efforts were worth it, they feel like they are valued for who they are, and they feel like their life is worth living. And that is the power of appreciation.

When we look for and find the things we appreciate about others and let them know, that is the biggest gift, for them and for us.

Here is a breakdown of the benefits of showing appreciation:

Feeling genuinely appreciated lifts people up. It makes us feel safe and energized, freeing us to continue giving our best. Think about it, when your value feels unacknowledged or at risk, does that worry become preoccupying? Unfortunately, it does, not receiving appreciation can drain and divert our energy from the things we love doing and sharing. It’s not the expectations, but more the human need to feel valued, loved, and respected.
Similarly, in the workplace, when employees are appreciated it creates a positive work environment and strengthens the relationships between the employees and leaders. In fact, many studies reveal that appreciation is one of the most powerful methods to motivate employees and make them more committed to their jobs, in turn increasing their productivity. A recent poll by a division of TimeJobs.com showed that more than 35% of employees consider lack of recognition of their work as the biggest hindrance to their productivity.
When you acknowledge someone’s value and express that recognition, you are able to forge deeper, fulfilling, and more trusting connections. In fact, Paul J. Zak, a professor at Claremont Graduate University, said that “The neuroscience shows that recognition has the largest effect on trust when it occurs immediately after a goal has been met when it comes from peers, and when it’s tangible, unexpected, personal, and public”. This makes sense, when you personally take the time to praise someone for their efforts, thank someone for their time, express how much they mean to you, and just simply be there for them when they are having a hard time, it shows that you genuinely care.
Actively finding ways to appreciate people may take some hard work and reflection at first but slowly it will change your mindset making you a kinder and more positive person. It becomes quite natural for us to give more attention to the bad qualities, mistakes, mishaps, and failures of others. Always picking people apart blinds us from seeing the strength it took to speak up about the abuse, the hard work it took to improve after their failure, the initiative and creativity it took to innovate and publicize an idea, the kindness it took for them to cook a meal for you and many other brilliant ideas, extra efforts, and meaningful gestures the people around us make.
Showing appreciation means you praise the uniqueness. With this, you become open to new ideas, qualities, and ways of doing things, in turn making you a more creative and innovative person.
You are happier. When you look for the good stuff and are grateful for the beauty around you, you become satisfied with the things that are already in your life, your family, job, money, friends, and home.

Ways to appreciate:

Change your mindset to look for the good in people, and actively find ways to search for unique traits, brilliant ideas, and great work. When you look for it, you will find it!
Parallel to the suggestion above, it’s important for you to learn and absorb positive words. Think about it, if your dictionary consists of a higher volume of kind, respectful and motivating words, you are automatically more inclined to employ them.
Listen to them. As we know time is money, give people your time and let them know that you enjoy their company.
Avoid comparing people to others, respect that the person is their own individual self, and praise or criticize them based on their dreams, not those of others. The biggest of appreciation is motivating people to embrace their true selves and letting them know that who they really are is what you admire about them.
Remember gifts don’t really mean all that much if they are just for the formality, rather let your heart spill out into a small and sweet handwritten note. If your friend or family member is going to have a hard interview, perhaps leave a little note by their water bottle or paperwork that says, “you are capable, you got this!”. Or if someone had a hard day at work, you could leave a little note next to their bed that says, “I am here for you”. And sometimes, no reason is even needed, just humanize the person, and let them know how much they mean to you.

Be ready to learn from them because when you genuinely appreciate someone that means you recognize their good qualities.
Start receiving compliments more graciously. When someone compliments you just reply with a “thank you”, there is no need to get fuzzy about it, force yourself to give one back, or argue with the other person that you do not deserve it. Think about it, someone saw something beautiful in and that is why they expressed their appreciation towards you, so don’t cut yourself down. Until you do not love yourself and celebrate your own qualities, it’s going to be very difficult to genuinely even acknowledge those of others.
Lastly, live in the moment and cherish the little things.

Thank you so much for reading this blog!

If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact us!

Be kind!

Steps to Strong Communication for

A Strong Relationship

Tone speaks more than words!

Imagine getting your favorite flavored cake, but the icing was just disturbingly unappealing, you wouldn’t even want to cut into the cake and try it? Right? So even though we should all live by that quote “never judge a book by its cover”, it’s quite difficult to decipher words from the tone they are wrapped up in. Because tone is the sound of our emotions.

But while it seems simple to be able to control our tone, it takes a lot of conscious efforts as the tone of voice often conveys more accurately what we are feeling and what is on our mind, than our actual words do. In other words, our tone tells the truth even when our words do not, even when we are unaware of that truth ourselves. Unfortunately, the tone is what others respond to first. Reflect: Have you ever said “I love you” in a frustrated manner that provokes bitterness and then innocently wonder why you are being repelled and unfairly attacked by the person to whom you’ve said it too. quite rightly responds to our tone rather than our words. And this happens often and is seriously damaging your relationships. Therefore, while we speak, it is incredibly important to listen to our voice, so that we are able to monitor our tone and adjust it to get our point across. Also, be authentic with your words, so if you are mad, use your words to convey that message, rather than saying nice things while your tone tries to push out your real emotions.

Your choice of words can make all the difference!

Small adjustments in your choice of words from negative to positive can make all the difference in the response you are likely to get.

Consider this: You work hard to cook a meal, but you added a bit less salt, making the dish slightly bland. What response would you prefer?

“Eeewww, that is disgusting!”

“Thanks for your hard work in preparing this dish, but I feel if you added more salt it would have tasted better”

You probably prefer the second phrase, right? Now, what is the difference? The difference is in the words!

Pay attention to body language, it makes a point…

Body language is the use of physical behavior, expressions, and mannerisms to communicate nonverbally, often done instinctively rather than consciously. The way you sit, the way you tilt your head, and the way you fold your arms all communicate strong messages. They can either put people at ease, build trust, display love, and draw others towards you, or they can attack, offend, confuse, and undermine the message you are trying to convey. For example, if you are trying to make someone feel better, rather than have your arms crossed and sitting at the other corner of the room, you may want to hold their hand, look them in the eye and tilt your head to show feelings of compassion and care.

Stop the words and bring out the ears…

Apart from the way listening makes the other person feel, it is as pertinent for you in understanding their part of the conversation. Effective listening can mitigate misunderstandings and confusion. Remember that listening is not the same as hearing. Hearing just refers to the sound entering your ears, so just the physical process that happens automatically. But listening is more than that, it calls for both focus and effort. Listening is indeed paying attention to what is being said, but also the way it is being said. Going back to the tone of voice, vocabulary, and body language discussed above, while you listen you must pay attention to these 3 things and analyze the underlying meaning. For example, by analyzing one’s body language you can pick up on negative cues that they may be hiding or may even be unaware of while they speak. These negative cues can include crossed arms, poor eye contact, tense facial expressions, and a body turned away from you. Also as mentioned above, our tone of voice conveys what we are actually feeling, and so Being able to demonstrate that you have picked up on these cues and then reciprocate them with appropriate gestures, the other person truly feels that you are indeed listening, quite intuitively strengthening your relationship.