Dear One,
With a heartfelt intention to share what hopefully empowers and uplifts you – and even alleviates the weight of troubles, I offer you ‘Praise.’
Praise can be utilized to assist moving through hardness to live better – even great-er.
Perfectionism or an internal critic or judge might cause inner dialogue that’s the opposite of Praise like “this isn’t good enough, this falls short, or this is junk.”
Then, what occurs in the head can spill out into life-affecting ourselves or others. Ugh.
Spoken silently or aloud, this bunk can cause feelings of not enough-ness or unworthiness. I used to think I was the only one who experienced this… Until I realized – not so much.
To shift the above – using Praise – took experimenting or changing it up for me. Which felt novel or uncomfortable at times, until it settled within and made beneficial differences. “The more you Praise and celebrate your life, the more there is to celebrate.” I agree with Oprah Winfrey and find, with practice, this is increasingly True. With practice.
“Nothing is more effective than sincere, accurate Praise, and nothing is more lame than a cookie-cutter compliment.” Bill F. Walsh has a point. I am referring to authentic Praise that’s food for the spirit. Praise that energizes, builds self-confidence, and expresses caring – for yourself or others. Not insincere Praise of the manipulative or disingenuous sort. Praise – of humans and Holies – magnifies goodness and satisfies the soul.
Praise ideas I find mull worthy include:
• Pausing or mini-breaking, even amidst goings-on, to acknowledge and hooray efforts towards a heart-led direction boosts energy and interest in continuing,
• Commending work by a co-worker, friend, or dear via an appreciative phone call for extra time spent trying to resolve a glitch (even if said hiccup isn’t yet resolved or figured out) goes a long way,
• Sending a 2 sentence note – written, emailed, or texted – is akin to placing a wee piece of your heart out there to uplift others. Not monumental in time it takes yet such gestures yield good vibes all around,
• Being honest matters. Bluffs and denigration have an opposite effect. Plus, overdoing it may sound false,
• Spontaneously Giving compliments when something is ‘gotten right’ feels genuine and offering these pronto elicits mega smiles,
• Acknowledging doings that felt ‘wrong’ or ‘risky’ or ‘messy,’ that were attempts to eventually and perhaps get it ‘right,’ fosters innovation and the likelihood that you or another will keep taking risks to uncover new or better ways. Even if it feels a tad off initially. Process over Perfection does work when implemented,
• Woot-wooting Gut Knowing attempts that felt worth a shot that ended in failure has merit. Not kidding. Because successful endeavors may take bellyflopping to figure out an improved way. As said in Silicon Valley, “failure is a feature,” and/or
• Using specific description instead of generic Praise shows sincerity and knowledge or understanding. For example in lieu of “that’s great!,” noting “Wow. That was a hair-raising/laborious/pain-in-the-tush task that you handled creatively/quickly/boldly while paying attention to XYZ.”
Praising can also have a ripple effect if done publicly – plus, when enthusiastic, ’tis infectious.
Research in 2020 by Caldarella et al found teachers who Praise – rather than punish – saw up to 30% greater focus in the classroom. Pretty impactful, eh?
“I prefer to Praise people and the world rather than criticize them and it.” Yahoo, Alice Walker. Well-timed and chosen words of Praise don’t cost a thing and are “worth a fortune,” per Sam Walton. Indeed.
With more Praise, feelings within rise; such spoken words can encourage and elevate. Ourselves and others. A Divine gift. Which can restore, refocus, and realign. To what is Higher. Better. Magnificent even.
May your life continue improving – from wherever you are – and loving Praise assist you in rising,
Judy
Original Email Dated: August 6, 2021