Appreciation. A concept any mind can relate to. Ever wondered why?

Often each person has their moments when they would like to be appreciated, even the humblest of people have a point in their life when they would want some recognition, maybe even acknowledgment. So is it a weakness? Or a strength?

Think about the last time you went the extra mile for someone, now think back to the time they did the same for you. However, rather than backtracking all the way to your childhood, think about the pattern of appreciation. I am not stressing on the positive or negative attributes of this concept, but merely that it exists and must be accepted by everyone, rather than creating a ‘them and us’ culture whereby one feel’s they are more modest than the other in such regards.

Another common tradition is to only appreciate when either; others do or when you are being appreciated. Why is it that this exists as part of our nature?

Think about sitting on a bus, you’ve been on this bus for over an hour now, and as you make your way out…what is it you do before leaving? Or what is it that you should do? – the courteous thing to say is thank you. Habitually, you won’t realise the impact this has on the driver and perhaps on his mood, but that last thank you makes him/her want to carry on providing the service, because he has been acknowledged, even appreciated.

There are many dangers to this concept and therefore it must be balanced out in your life, quite frequently individuals get carried away by their emotions. For instance ‘appreciation’ becomes the centre of their actions, this can ruin things as often the response they receive will be dissatisfying and therefore discourage them. Take the example of giving charity, if ones aim is to be recognised often they return disappointed, because their donation, although generous in quantity, is seen to be a kind act of courtesy rather than one to be honoured.

Quite simply, it all comes down to one’s intentions. When we have pure intentions where we don’t act for the sake of another person’s acknowledgement or gratitude, we often see greater rewards, for instance we may feel some internal satisfaction or pride…

The point of this article isn’t to sway the reader either way, your thoughts may remain the same, and your actions will surely remain the same. It’s what you expect from your actions which may transform…

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