Tag: Gratitude

Self-appreciation

Bachelor Party. Spring Break. Girls’ Night Out. Spousal date…and the list goes on.

One of the things foreigners found fascinating about America is its sense of enjoyment (and sometimes entitlement). We’re gonna party, Winter Spring Summer or Fall.

Time for yourself.

Look at yourself in the mirror, just to acknowledge the reflection that is there.

Say, “I appreciate you” for…..(fill-in the blank)

Staying the course when others convince you to lower your self-expectations.

Listening to the inner voice and longing to connect, which only you know intimately.

That reservoir needs to be refilled. Take a Sabbatical break.

When one appreciates oneself, one can then appreciate others.

Self-denial can only go so far. Self-appreciation, on the other hand, is like daily vitamins.

After all, out of the many people you have met, who else knows you better than yourself:

the dark night of the soul, the bliss that comes unexpectedly (but not enough, especially when you were raised in a self-denial culture).

Appreciation is a offspring of gratitude.

You are thankful for being nurtured by the larger human family e.g. those unsung heroes who tilt the land and whose products end up at WholeFoods or Fastfoods; those scientists whose work were adopted by main stream, but remain unacknowledged (in the name of National Securities) e.g. 3-D printing, un-maned aircrafts, gene sequencing.

The story of our century is not about technology, but about technology bunched up into critical mass that help advance mankind:  crowdfunding here, a micro-loan there, gifts for the poor and gifts to loved ones.

All made possible via the internet and creative apps (Kickstarter helps fund movie scripts).

Individuals are empowered to voice and to give. That sense of helplessness is taken out of the equation. No more lacking in ways, just in will.

Back to the drawing board. Back to self-appreciation. Give yourself some slacks. Only then, can we be of use to others. Man exists to rise above mere survival instincts. To appreciate one’s self and others.  That connection has to start somewhere, really close to home.

I am sure you can list top of your head a dozen positive things about yourself.

Then go out to build on top of that, as a token of appreciation to your very best self.

Thank you Note

We don’t thank people enough. That’s a fact.

Bride and groom leave those thank-you notes at the door even pictures taken earlier in the banquet.

Efficiency over gratitude.

Sales people are advised to send Thank-you cards to get referrals.

For job candidates, it’s a must.

But what about situations other than wedding, sales referral request and job search?

Even quick notes on our mobile phones have “thank you”  pretyped.

Some people even say “You’re welcome” to remind us of the art of gratitude.

I guess the age of entitlement has overshadowed our sense of gratitude.

We deal with Third-Party, with institutions instead of individuals.

If we owed someone money, we would be more inclined to say Thank You.

Credit card companies, on the other hand, acted in the way that makes it hard for us to send them a Thank-you Note.

(in Now You See Me, the magicians opened the show in Las Vegas by saying “Tonight, we’re gonna rob a bank”).

In this post-Recession era, we all need to unlearn bitterness, and relearn gratitude.

One of the blogs I subscribe to mentioned “reciprocation”.  Someone has to start the virtuous cycle.

Then reciprocity will follow suit.

I am listening to Vincent by Don McLean. Reciprocity came a bit late for Vincent Van Gogh.

The hope for us is , in our life time, we will be acknowledged sooner rather later. A quote on Linkedin got my attention: “when you light someone’s path, it brightens your feet as well”.

Thank you for reading.

It’s been a journey in self-discovery and bonding with you, my unknown readers.

Like a singer that needs an audience (think of a Vegas lounge with all the “losers” eating breakfast on the house, while trying their best to “appreciate” the free gig on stage),

I am thankful you lent me your “ears” while I was trying to find my voice. Your attention is acknowledged and appreciated. Communication is a two-way street.

I need you more than you have come to realize.  Thank you.