DC Chapter 2 - Nourishment for Self Esteem

The big secret of dealing with people - Give honest and sincere appreciation.

1. The deepest urge in human nature is "the desire to be important" or "the desire to be great".
2. Just like food or sleep, human beings crave for appreciation, but this craving is seldom gratified.
3. People sometimes became invalids in order to win sympathy and attention, and get a feeling of importance. About half of the people who go insane apparently have nothing organically wrong with their brain cells. They go insane because they find in insanity a feeling of importance that they were unable to achieve in the world of reality.
4. In the words of Charles Schwab, among the richest man in the American history - "I consider my ability to arouse enthusiasm among my people the greatest asset I possess, and the way to develop the best that is in a person is by appreciation and encouragement. I am hearty in my approbation and lavish in my praise".
5. In the words of Alfred Lunt, one fo the great actors in his time - "There is nothing I need so much as nourishment for my self esteem". How often do we nourish the self esteem of our children, family members, spouse, friends and employees?
6. Honest appreciation got results where criticism and ridicule failed.

It has been a good exercise to reflect on this topic. I very seldom give appreciation to people around me, because they rarely do the same to me. We have to admit, how often do we actually say out loud to people something that go like this:

 

1. To your mom - thank you mom for all the love you have showered upon me, and the continuous love and support you have given me throughout all these years. Never.
2. To your dad - thank you dad for working very hard to ensure that we have enough food on our table everyday and send us to school so that we become useful citizens to our religion, race and nation. Never.
3. To your children - thank you so much for giving me such happiness, and having you guys makes me feel complete as a person. Maybe not yet.
4. To your spouse - thank you for choosing me to be your partner in life for now, for accepting all my weaknesses and hence, compliment my journey towards becoming a much better individual. Ehmmmmmmm.....
5. To your staff - thank you for helping me completing a few tasks, without you I would have been impaired in several matters which I know you can do better than me. Not yet. This one skill I need to learn from Mr. Schwab.

Well, actually yesterday I sent 2 sms after I read this chapter. First to Mr.X - thank you for massaging my back for 2 nites in a row since the pain on my left shoulders have become unbearable. I really appreciate it. As usual, I did not expect any reply.

 

Second, to Mr. AHM - thank you for giving me the opporutnity to be a member of a few initiatives. I truly appreciate your passion for people development. Guess what, Mr. AHM replied and asked me - "TQ. Ada apa2 ke?". As always, when we rarely practice what have been preached, people will ask - "Are there some prawns hiding behind the rocks?"

 

To Allah Almighty - may I become a better person by being able to give honest and sincere appreciation more often to people around me. AMIN.