Do you like to be appreciated? 

I know I do!

Have you ever done something for a sibling or a parent that you thought they’d really like?  Maybe you cleaned the room for them, maybe you did all the dishes, so that your mom came home to a clean house, maybe you vacuumed before your roommates parents came over, maybe you made your fiance a beautiful dinner, and all you want is for them to enjoy or appreciate it. 

I know the feeling! I remember my mom getting upset if she walked into a messy house, and I don’t blame her! Who wouldn’t want the house to be clean when they come home? There would be days that I would go out of my way thinking of her to make sure all of the dishes were done. All I wanted was to make her happy when she walked in the door. Sometimes she was, but it’s easier to remember the times she pointed out all the other things that needed done. The funny thing is, for as much as I wanted her to be grateful, I rarely was. I took a lot of the things my mom did for granted.

A while ago, I was upsetting Steve, my fiance, by not being appreciative. For those of you that don’t know we live in the same apartment building, so we eat almost every dinner together. Steve is very good at cooking and he does almost all of the cooking, and over time it has been so easy to take it for granted. It would be just as easy to complement the meals he makes, because he is very talented, but sometimes I forget and the more I forget the easier it is to continue to forget. So I started to try to be very intentional and say thank you, compliment his meal, and on top of that, find ways I can do more for him. Intentionally being appreciative has been amazing for us! 

People want to do things for you more when you are grateful and appreciative! When you tell someone you appreciate something they did for you, that person knows that you noticed them, they feel seen. Being noticed is an incredible feeling and when you are noticed you want to continue doing that good deed because you know the other person appreciated it.  

It is so important to remember that you get what you give. Who doesn’t want to be noticed and appreciated! It is such a crappy feeling to go out of your way for someone and then they act like a jerk. Don’t be that jerk. And when you’re dealing with the jerk offer it up for their soul or someone else’s. 

Be appreciative!