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Hello!
Welcome to another issue
of Appreciation
in Action. I hope you are doing
well, having fun, and appreciating your life.
Thanks for being on this list!
With Appreciation,
Appreciate People for No Reason
We can
either appreciate people in a re-active way (after they’ve done something we
like or accomplished something important), or we can appreciate them in a
pro-active way (for who they are, qualities they have, because we care about
them and/or we want to empower them). Both
of these types of appreciation are important, but pro-active appreciation is vital
to the creation of extraordinary relationships and teams. Sadly, many of us are either not very good at
pro-active appreciation or we simply don’t take the time to pro-actively
acknowledge the people around us.
Appreciating
people for “no reason” is the ultimate form of pro-active appreciation. I first learned the importance and power of
this from my wife, Michelle. When we
first started dating, Michelle sat me down and gave me a long list of things
she liked and didn’t like. She was very
straight forward about it, which I appreciated.
It was like a “cheat sheet” to making her happy and a road map for me to
navigate in our relationship. I was
grateful for this information. One small
thing that Michelle mentioned to me in that conversation stuck out. She said, “I really like flowers. But, I especially like flowers for no
reason.”
“What do
you mean no reason?” I asked. To me
there were only three reasons to buy flowers for a woman, 1) her birthday, 2)
Valentine’s Day, and 3) if I did something stupid and needed to apologize. These were the only reasons I had ever bought
flowers for a woman in my life.
Michelle
said, “Buying me flowers for no specific reason at all, just because you are
thinking about me, just because you love me, will make me very happy.”
A week or
so later I saw a flower stand and decided to try this out. Not really sure what her reaction would be, I
bought Michelle some flowers, “for no reason,” and brought them to her
apartment. I gave her the flowers and
she loved it. I mean, she really loved it. She got so excited—her face lit up, she
smiled and actually started jumping up and down. It was wonderful to see her so happy. Because she expressed her appreciation so
visibly and so immediately, I found myself searching for flowers wherever I
went so that I could bring them to her and make her happy. I began buying her flowers, “for no reason,”
all the time. She appreciated the
flowers and me so much, and as a result she got more of what she wanted. To this day, I get flowers for Michelle (for
no reason) on a regular basis. She
“trained” me with her positive reaction and it ended up being a true win-win in
our relationship.
We don’t
need to wait for the “right time” or the “appropriate moment” to tell someone
we love them, what they mean to us, or how much we appreciate them. Sadly, it sometimes takes life smacking us
with a “two-by-four” to the head (aka a death, accident, tragedy, etc.) for us
to really stop and take inventory of what and who is truly important to us. However, if we look around and pay attention
to the people in our lives, we can appreciate each and every one of them for no
reason at all, just because we care about them and they are important to us.
Make a list of 5 or more people in your
life. Over the next few days, pick up
the phone, send them an email, and/or talk to each them in person. Let them know what you appreciate about them
and do it “for no reason.” Have fun and
watch how excited they get!
Book Recommendations:
There are a few books that have come out recently, that I
highly recommend:
1) Why Talking is Not Enough, by Susan Page
(A great book on romantic relationships by relationship
expert Susan Page)
2) Vital Friends, by Tom Rath
(A neat new book about the importance of friendships and
relationships in business and life by one of the co-authors of How Full is Your Bucket)
3) Wisdom of Our Fathers, by Tim Russert
(A heart-warming book of stories about dads complied by NBC
news interviewer Tim Russert)
You can pick up copies of these at any local bookstore or at
www.amazon.com
Simple Actions You Can
Take to Help the Planet:
If you want to take simple and positive actions to help our
planet, there is a website and a project called "1-A-Week" that you
should check out. Given that many of us
care about the environment and our planet, yet and at the same time we are
busy, often don't really know what we could do that would help, and/or don't
have as much time, energy, or knowledge as we’d like – this website is a
wonderful way to get simple and practical insight, advice, and action
ideas. The site (http://1aweek.the-ma.com)
is updated each week and it gives a few options of actions you can take to help
the planet for that week. All the info that you need to take one or more
of the suggested actions each week is listed on his site. It’s set it up
to be easy, quick, and stress-free. I’ve been going to the site regularly
and taking many of the actions. Check it
out:
http://1aweek.the-ma.com
Appreciation in Action Archives:
If you want to read past issues of “Appreciation in Action”
you can visit my archive section and see all past issues of this e-zine. There are also lots of other great resources
listed in my resource section (book ideas, coaches, quotes, and more). Check it out – click the link below:
http://www.mike-robbins.com/ezine-archives.htm
About Mike Robbins
Mike
Robbins is an expert in success, teamwork, and the power of
appreciation. As a former professional baseball player and
Internet advertising sales executive, as well as a life-long student of
personal development, Mike brings a varied and impressive background to
the clients with whom he works. Through his keynotes,
seminars,
writing, and one-on-one coaching, Mike empowers individuals, teams, and
organizations to be more productive, appreciative, and
successful. He is the author of the popular audio program, The
Power of Appreciation, and the forthcoming book, Focus
on the Good Stuff
(Jossey-Bass/Wiley, 2007). Feel free to contact Mike for more
information about his speaking and coaching programs, as well as his
products.
You may forward your copy of this e-zine to anyone you think might
enjoy it. Please keep the broadcast intact, including contact and
copyright information. Thanks!
“Hey there!
Thanks for being on my daddy’s e-zine list. He really likes writing these articles and
sending them to you!”
~ Samantha
Benoit Robbins
For more photos
of Samantha click here!
Copyright
©
Mike Robbins
1735 Glazier Drive
Concord, CA 94521
Phone: (925) 825-2319
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