We often admire qualities and traits of others from afar, but don’t express them to those individuals. Sometimes it’s because we don’t know them well. Other times we assume that person has it all together and doesn’t need positive feedback. Yet, we are human, we have good and bad days, pings of self-doubt and self-destructive thoughts. It’s on those days that your positive impressions of others are needed most.
Something like this happened to me today. My son often talks about how much he loves one of the older child-care workers at my gym, Ms Sandy. He gets upset when she is not working when I put him in child-care there. He’s painted pictures for her when at home, and often talks about how much he likes her. So I let her know today.
Ms. Sandy’s response was quite surprising to me, but not negative. She told me she had been having a bad morning and really needed to hear that feedback. She almost burst into tears. “You don’t know how happy that makes me feel. I was really feeling bad about myself. Thank you for telling me that, I really needed it today.”
I repeated to her how much my son loves her and how I appreciate how much she does for him. I touched her arm to let her know I support her, and she smiled in appreciation.
I always assumed Ms. Sandy, who has children and grandchildren, would not have a hard day with the amount of wisdom she had accumulated over the years. I always saw her with a bright sunny face.
Today reminded me that even those who always have a smile on their face, or who we assume have all the answers, can have a bad day.
Take the time to let those who do things, even the small things that make your day easier, know how much you appreciate their work. Sometimes those words will not only help them from getting through a rough day, but also prevent them from doing something negative because of their hurt spirit. Your positive words give people the strength to keep spreading positive light into the world. Never be hesitant to express your positive impressions of others.
Photo Credit: Constadina Zarokostas-Vasiliades