Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Appreciating the Good

Everything from elementary school to parenthood requires correction, just about EVERY day.  Fix this, slow down, this is not right.  Whether you're taking it or giving it, focusing on what's wrong takes up so much of our thoughts and attitudes if we're not actively working against it.  This is another one of those balance issues that cause so much destruction if not kept in check.

Correction is necessary and good.  None of us see everything clearly all of the time and need the help of others to show us better.  On the other hand, if correction is all you give or all you hear things can spiral downward really fast.  Before you correct, pause to consider what someone does or is doing well.  Have you ever expressed appreciation for the good?

Perhaps there's nothing to correct right now.  Wouldn't you love to have the kind of relationship with someone/others where they trust and can appreciate (no matter how hard it is to be wrong) you correcting them?  It begins with verbalizing what they do well, what they got right or why they are important to you/your family/your organization.  Maybe it involves special privileges (as with children), special honors or responsibilities (in a business or congregation) or just an out of your way dinner to say they are cared about.

It's very very easy to discount someone else's feelings as unimportant (in light of the way things should be), but turn around and use ours as an excuse to give up, belittle or criticize others.  There is balance that must be maintained to keep a ship from sinking, so to speak.  On the receiving end of correction, if all you hear is how bad things are, it's very hard not to get discouraged and perhaps even quit trying.  From telling a child no all the way to calling someone out for a life choice, corrections are necessary but requires a healthy relationship to be effective.  Healthy relationships begin when we appreciate the good in others.  Take time to tell those you see today what you appreciate about them.  Be the change you want to see from others! And we all desire to be appreciated more for what we do, don't we?

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