Treat #75
: The One Thank-You That Counts
I am part of a team of friends who handles an older friends affairs. This week a lot of things needed my attention and I started to feel a bit bogged down by it all. I love my friend and she is deeply grateful and appreciative of the support we give her. I noticed I was not in a place of appreciation. I actually considered asking another person to take over my responsibilities.
In looking a little deeper, I realized what was really going on.
In the cycle of completing, which I use with my clients. I tell them that the most important step in the process of completing is the self-acknowledgement that takes place after completing one thing and before starting something new. Yikes, I realized I was skipping that step in this situation with my friend. I have been taking myself for granted and forgetting to thank and appreciate myself for all that I am doing.
How easy it is to skip over ourselves and not recognize what we contribute. I realized that this friend can thank me all she wants (and the others in her life as well) for what we are doing for her, but the thank-you that counts is my own self acknowledgment.
So I began thanking myself out loud for each of the things I had done for my friend that day. I talked to myself in a way so I heard it and took it in. It’s easy sometimes to deflect a compliment by saying: oh, its nothing . . . I do it because I love it. That is true, we all do it because we want to, but the thank-you is important is it acknowledges ourselves for being willing to do.
I have continued to do self-acknowledgements in the situation with my friend. Any irritation I had has disappeared and been replaced with gratitude.
At the end of a session with clients I make a big deal about the self acknowledgment part of completing. Some clients tell me they find it much easier to thank other people than to thank themselves. Sometimes I see embarrassment in their faces as I demonstrate acknowledgment by jumping up and down in a very exaggerated and enthusiastic way, shouting out loud things like: Yes, I am fabulous, or, way to go (their name). At the same time I see them laugh and enjoy it.
We all LOVE to be appreciated even if we keep it a secret. And who better to acknowledge us than us.
So in this week of Thanksgiving (in the U.S.), remember to thank yourself for the adorable person you are and for all that you are doing and completing. We all do a lot for others and I know we love doing it. We will be able to continue serving with balance if we remember to thank the one doing the giving - ourselves!!
Martha Invitations
1. Make a list of what you did today and thank yourself out loud for each and every one of your actions.
2. While you brush your teeth look at that adorable one in the mirror and appreciate who you see.
3. When someone thanks you today, silently pass the thank-you forward to yourself.
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