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Today's
quotation:
Praise is like sunlight to the
warm human spirit; we cannot flower and grow without
it. And yet, while most of us are only too ready to
apply to others the cold wind of criticism, we are somehow
reluctant to give our fellow the warm sunshine of praise.
Jess
Lair
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Today's
Meditation:
Praise
is free. It's really quite simple.
Unfortunately, constructive praise is also quite rare, it
seems. We seem to have an aversion to praising someone
else's efforts, especially if we perceive there being some
sort of competition between us and them. Did a
co-worker do something very well? Well, that's just
his or her job. Did our child do very well at
school. Well, that's what kids are supposed to do at
school, isn't it? Our world is full of people
criticizing and judging people, but not full of people
praising others. It's really quite a shame, because
praise can do so much to make the experience of life more
positive for those people whose lives we touch.
Of
course, there's the problem of giving too much praise, which
is more destructive than constructive. And there's the
problem of praising mediocre or poor work, which is also
counterproductive when all is said and done. But these
things are going to happen no matter what, and we shouldn't
withhold our praise of something well done simply because
someone else praises too much, or praises something that
doesn't really deserve praise.
Some
of us withhold our praise because we don't get praised much,
if at all. We may do a great job at work, yet receive
only criticism for the few things we may do less well
at. But this philosophy only spreads discontent and
frustration--we can be those people who stop the chain of
negativity and turn it into something positive. As a
teacher, I get almost no praise, ever, from anyone. I
get people coming into my classroom intent on finding
something that they can put on an evaluation that I need to
improve. But I know how it feels to be on the
receiving end of such attention, so I want to praise my
students as much as I can, as long as the praise is
warranted and sincere.
Spread
praise. If you have a hard time finding something to
praise in someone, dig deeper instead of giving up or
criticizing. We can contribute to the positive energy
of this world with a few simple words now and then, and
that's a contribution that's desperately needed, by all of
us.
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