The Power of Practicing
Uncommon Appreciation
Jack Canfield recently wrote
a wonderful article and it seems fitting to share it with you during
this season of Thanksgiving. I hope you enjoy his article below….
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 employees
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.
10 Ways to Really Motivate an Employee |
Employees
- Appreciation
- Feeling “in” on things
- An understanding attitude
- Job security
- Good wages
- Interesting work
- Promotional opportunities
- Loyalty from management
- Good working conditions
- Tactful discipline
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Supervisors
- Good Wages.
- Job Security
- Promotional Opportunities
- Good working conditions
- Interesting work
- Loyalty from management
- Tactful discipline
- Appreciation
- An understanding attitude
- Feeling “in” on things
|
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 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 the more grateful you will feel. 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! Try my "card-in-the-pocket" idea,
or come up with something on your own. The important thing to do is to do something! Try appreciating on for size. I know you'll see and feel
huge results from doing so.
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
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Form a New Habit
What will you do to increase the frequency of expressing appreciation
to those around you? I love Jack’s idea of carrying a 3” x 5” card everywhere you go and keeping score until it became a habit. In 2007, I had
the opportunity to work very closely with Jack for a full year as a member
of his Platinum Mastermind group. I can tell you that Jack practices
what he preaches; it is evident to me that what he sends out comes back.
Jack leads a truly abundant and blessed life as he blesses so many hundreds
of thousands of lives that he touches daily.
How can you be a blessing to those around you? Take action, starting
today! Your actions do not have to be big. All the little things you
do can make a big difference.
Simplify the Holidays!
How would you like to send a real paper greeting card in the mail for about
a dollar, without ever leaving the comfort of your home or office? For the past five years,
I have been using a service that enables me to do just that! And the quality of their greeting cards is comparable to what I would find at a Hallmark or American Greetings card shop, for about one-fifth the cost! With a simple click of your
computer mouse, you can select from thousands of cards for every possible occasion, or create your
own (using your own photos), write a message (using your own handwriting
font and signature) and send a printed greeting card in the mail. The
company will do the rest of the work for you -- print, stuff, address, stamp it with a real stamp, and deliver it to the post office.
Because of the ease and affordability of this product and service, I
have sent more than 14,500 cards over the last five years to people I
know personally and professionally. This has enhanced my relationships
in amazing ways.
I send hundreds of Christmas cards this time of year, and I love how
this greeting card tool helps simplify my life during the busy holiday
season. I also use it year-around for cards of sympathy, congratulations,
encouragement, gratitude, and much more. The system even sends me an email reminder
so I don’t forget birthdays and other important occasions. If
I want to send a gift with a card, I can do that, too.
I get a great response from people who receive my cards. They love
the pictures of our family on the cover of the card. Our family’s holiday message
inside is full of humor and is NOT the typical boring annual family update.
Many people tell us it’s their favorite holiday card every year! I love
how easy it is to send our cards out. I remember the old days when we’d
have to address each envelope, put the return address sticker and a stamp
on them, sign each card, then lick the envelope shut. Back then, we made
a photocopy of a holiday letter, which we also had to fold and insert
into each card. It was a lot of work. The system we use now does all
that for us.
If you’d like to try this greeting card system for free, click here and then click the "Take the Free Tour Now" button at the bottom of the page. When you do that, you'll gain access to a free sample account so you can send a card to someone who needs to hear from you today. I’ll even pay for the card and
the stamp so you can try it and see what you think.
If you are looking for additional ways to save time and reduce holiday
stress, click here to read my article from last year or listen to a recorded
interview I did with psychologist Carol McWilliams on the same topic.
Blessings to you during this season of Thanksgiving.
I am grateful to my subscribers who have provided me with positive and
constructive feedback about my newsletters. I love knowing that my articles
make a difference in someone’s life, so thanks to those of you who
have shared your stories of struggle and triumph with me. Keep
your stories coming!
With love and gratitude,
Kathy
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Do you stay in touch with important people
in your business and personal life?
Did you know that
for every month that your customers and prospects do not hear
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Do you have important people in your life you have not been
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time, do you take them for granted? When was the last time
you told them you loved and appreciated them? Don't put it
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There’s no time like the present to
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