Make it A Habit to Respect and Appreciate People

Last night I read the first chapter in "How to Win Friends and Influence People" and now I need to write a plan on how to show people I do business with how much I respect their efforts and how to make that action a habit. There are two things I can do to show those around me that I appreciate and respect their efforts. First, I can be positive around them. Second, I can acknowledge the little positive and good things that others do.

First, there were a couple things that I loved in the chapter. Benjamin Franklin said, "I will speak ill of no man, and speak the good I know of everybody." This powerful choice can change the course of your day. There is no point in spreading hurtful words about others. Negative words and emotions will spread to others like a disease. Just stop the negative emotion, that is a choice we have. Move on to something positive that will spread good emotions to everyone around us, because that is what will come back to us. Making progress, being efficient, creating success comes from positive actions. By being positive and letting negative things go, I will be productive and motivating to those around me. That in turn will help them be productive and motivating. I want my business partners to be productive and motivating so our business succeeds and we all realize the rewards of our efforts. It would pain me to know any negative emotions I had contributed to the failure of their hard work.

The other message I loved was from the essay "Father Forgets" by W. Livingston Larned. A father criticizes his son during the day and the boy still goes to the father to hug him to show that he loves him and wants his approval at the end of the day. The father realizes then the disservice his has been doing to his son. We are only human, living our lives the best we know how. We all need guidance and help. Positive reinforcement is the most productive way to get people to do what we want. We all want to be appreciated for the contributions we make at work, with our family, friends, society. When we are rewarded for little things that we do, we feel like doing more of the same. If we are criticized, we become defensive and look for ways to blame others. Finding small things to appreciate is a great way to keep our environment positive. We can also realize that every small positive step is an important part of the path to great success.