Practice Uncommon Appreciation
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Editor’s Note: I love anything written by Jack Canfield. He inspires millions with his “Success Principles” and “Dream Big Collection” (which I personally own and attribute to my own successes). I love this article because it is so basic and yet so many people still don’t get it. I know that I always found myself working harder for the boss who thanked me, or occasionally acknowledged my extra efforts. It only takes a second, but a simple ‘thank you’ can impact someone’s life forever.
That being said, I figured rather than refer to almost every area of the article in a separate post, I would add the entire thing here. Enjoy– and thank someone today.
Practice Uncommon Appreciation 
by Jack Canfield
A recent management study revealed that 46% of employees leaving a company do so because they feel unappreciated; 61% said their bosses don’t place much importance on them as people; and 88% said they don’t receive acknowledgement for the work they do.
Whether you are an entrepreneur, manager, teacher, parent, coach or simply a friend, if you want to be successful with other people, you must master the art of appreciation.
I’ve never known anyone to complain about receiving too much positive feedback. Have you? In fact, just the opposite is true.
Consider this: Every year, a management consulting firm conducts a survey with 200 companies on the subject on what motivates employees. When given a list of 10 possible things that would most motivate them, the employee always list appreciation as the number-one motivator.
Managers and supervisors ranked appreciation number eight. This is a major mismatch, as the chart below so clearly shows.
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10 Ways to Really Motivate an Employee |
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Employees
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Supervisors
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Notice that the top three motivators for employees don’t cost anything, just a few moments of time, respect and understanding.
Keeping Score
When I first learned about the power of appreciation, it made total sense to me. However, it was still something that I forgot to do. I hadn’t yet turned it into a habit.
A valuable technique that I employed to help me lock in this new habit was to carry a 3” x 5” card in my pocket all day, and every time I acknowledged and appreciated someone, I would place a check mark on the card. I would not allow myself to go to bed until I had appreciated 10 people. If it was late in the evening and I didn’t have 10 check marks, I would appreciate my wife and children, I would send an e-mails to several of my staff, or I would write a letter to my mother or stepfather.
I did whatever it took until it became an unconscious habit. I did this every single day for 6 months—until I no longer needed the card to remind me.
Appreciation as a Secret of Success
Another important reason for being in a state of appreciation as often as possible is that when you are in such a state, you are in one of the highest emotional states possible.
When you are in a state of appreciation and gratitude, you are in a state of abundance. You are appreciating what you do have instead of focusing on, and complaining about, what you don’t have. Your focus is on what you have received… and you always get more of what you focus on.
And because the law of attraction states that like attracts like, the more you are in a state of gratitude, the more you will attract, and even more to be grateful for. It becomes an upward-spiraling process of ever-increasing abundance that just keeps getting better and better.
Think about it. The more grateful people are for the gifts we give them, the more inclined we are to give them more gifts. Their gratitude and appreciation reinforces our giving. The same principle holds true on a universal and spiritual level as it does on an interpersonal level.
I challenge you to discover ways to immediately appreciate someone in your life, starting today!
For more tips and suggestions on how you, too, can find ways to appreciate those in your life, read Principle 53 in The Success Principles.
© 2009 Jack Canfield
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Jack Canfield, America’s #1 Success Coach, is founder of the billion-dollar book brand Chicken Soup for the Soul© and a leading authority on Peak Performance and Life Success. If you’re ready to jump-start your life, make more money, and have more fun and joy in all that you do, get your FREE success tips from Jack Canfield now at: www.FreeSuccessStrategies.com
Written by Erin Kennedy, CPRW, CMRW - Visit the website to hire executive resume writer Erin Kennedy, CERW, CPRW
Erin is an internationally renowned certified resume writer specializing in professional and executive level resumes and career services.
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Erin Kennedy, CPRW, CERW owns Professional Resume Services, where she and her talented staff of writers specialize in professional & executive resumes. Erin is internationally recognized by her peers as one of the best of the best, she is a perennial award-nominated certified resume writer.
As a career strategist, I often see clients who are frustrated in their current employment situation, looking to move on to greener pastures. There seems to be this common theme amongst clients who feel underappreciated and undervalued at work.
At times I want to pick up the phone, call their employers and say: “Look, if you want to save this relationship, (and the cost of losing this employee, recruiting and hiring another) you would serve yourselves well to just show some appreciation every once in awhile.”
Unfortunately, I can’t make that phone call. Instead I suggest clients approach their employers and begin a conversation around appreciation.
It is my belief that people want to feel they are having an impact on their surroundings – that they are contributing, and as you point out in your post, a few simple words can make all the difference.
Thank you Erin, you have absolutely “nailed” this phenomenon.
THANK YOU, Maureen! I appreciate your comment! I completely agree w/Jack Canfield and your words. I know what you mean, I’ve seen that in the workplace and I want to say to the employer, “if only you would just GIVE a little thanks, your employees would work so much harder”.
I had a boss once like that (Kathy C., I’m talking about YOU!). She had the entire company willing to do anything for her because she was so gracious, appreciative, and generous with her praise. When she quit to take a position as CEO at another site, you would have thought it was the JFK assassination all over again. People were CRYING openly and just devastated! I’ve never witnessed anything like that. She was a true leader.
A little appreciation really does go a long way.
It seems like the higher the position, the more materialistic a person becomes. Does this mean that more money only makes one hunger for more money? A regular employee is satisfied with a simple but sincere thank you even if they do not own shiny cars like their bosses do and has way lower wages. They are more content with what things they have. So, I think that money, like power, corrupts people…in a way at least.
Not sure about that… I know lots of people in “power positions” and they are just as thrilled with a simple thank you. Everyone wants to feel appreciated.
I recently received an email from a man who was a student in my very first high school teaching assignment. I had not heard from him since I left that small city after that first year and moved to another state. In the email (he found me through Google) he mentioned how much he appreciated having me as a teacher, going on to say, “you have no idea how much joy you brought to my otherwise joyless life.” I was, and still am stunned. It was powerful! I thought about this for days.
I think all too often we let our appreciation go unexpressed. We’re all so busy that we don’t take the time to tell someone or show someone how much we appreciate them. In the world of attraction marketing, expressing your appreciation is especially important because we’re all just floating around in cyberspace. When we take a minute to leave a comment, send an email, send a card, or pick up the phone, then the connections become more tangible, and we’re building a real and lasting relationship. Many thanks, for this article to you, Erin!
When you show appreciation for what you have in your life, you are expressing gratitude and thankfulness. The most successful people in the world are successful because they recognize and appreciate their good fortune and then share it with others.
.-= Judith R. Carter´s last blog ..Should You Pay Points on a Mortgage =-.
Appreciated people are motivated ones. They work harder, create goals for themselves for the same wage. It is definitely a choice.