Principle #5
There are so many super awesome principles that Cindy created while writing her book Jungle: A Journey to Peace, Purpose and Freedom. Of the seven principles she shared, principle #5 is my favorite…See your colleagues bigger than they see themselves.
I think this one speaks so loudly to me because it has an immediate impact on people. Encouraging and complimenting people are what feeds my heart. I believe there is too much time and attention focused on the negatives which then leaves the positives, overlooked. How do we change focus from a negative?
When I think about this principle it reminds me of one of my family Thanksgiving celebrations. I was fortunate to have my entire family visit that year. My mom arrived from Florida, my sister, Cindy, and her partner, Dana, flew in from California and my daughters and their families were all there.
I spent the day before Thanksgiving making casseroles and baking breads and pies. My family was hanging out in the kitchen chatting and catching up when the glass in my oven door exploded. Yes, exploded, everywhere in the kitchen. It was unbelievable….how does that even happen?
After the shock wore off, my husband and I shooed everyone out of the kitchen so we could sweep up the mess. As we were sweeping and I started focusing again, I remembered that I had a turkey to cook tomorrow! OMG….I had a house full of people and no oven!
My husband, our daughters, and I brainstormed about how to cook our Thanksgiving turkey. We decided to cook the turkey and stuffing at my youngest daughter’s apartment and my oldest daughter was going to hold down the fort at my house and make sure everything else was ready for our meal.
On Thanksgiving afternoon, I walked in with the roasted turkey and was met with the smells of casseroles being warmed up and a beautiful Thanksgiving table. My family had all come together to make this day happen. I was so overwhelmed and my heart was so full of love for them all. I wondered how I got to be so lucky to have such a loving and giving family.
We started a new tradition that year, thanks to the best sister ever! Cindy had written each of our names on a slip of paper and put them in a bowl. She had everyone draw a name and not yet share who we had drawn.
When we sat down to eat, Cindy asked us to look at our name, and one at a time, share what we appreciated about him/her. Our appreciation turned into a “crying fest” because all of our hearts were spilling over with love. To this day we still appreciate each other before we eat our Thanksgiving meal. We also have appreciations throughout the year.
Sharing compliments and your appreciation for someone is an easy thing to do. Yet we don’t think about doing it for some reason. We tend to see what people aren’t doing well instead of what people are doing well.
I want to challenge you to voice your appreciation for three people today. When people feel valued and appreciated, they have a bounce in their step. Think about how you have impacted their day! They feel better about themselves. That’s so powerful!
“Appreciation can make a day, even change a life. Your willingness to put it into words is all that is necessary.”
– Margaret Cousins
How does that make you feel? Not only have you impacted someone by sharing your appreciation you have also impacted yourself! Your heart swells with happiness when you see other people happy. How do you feel when someone appreciates you? Wouldn’t you want them to feel like that too?
Thanksgiving is a day of being thankful and giving. I believe we should be thankful and we should give our gift of appreciation to people every day. Add a bounce to someone’s step by complimenting them. You’ll be amazed how your heart feels!
Check out the 7 Principles on Cindy’s new website. cindyhenson.online/7 Principles
Freedom is possible!
Love,
Deb