Appreciation

Ever felt unappreciated for what you do? Or more so underappreciated? Sometimes people pretend to appreciate what you do, but truly don't mean it. Ever been a really good friend and put a lot of effort into your relationship with someone and they don't appreciate all you do?

Sometimes I just want to walk away and not put effort into somethings anymore. You can't give of yourself until there's nothing left. Relationships are a two-way street, it's gotta go both ways.

Once, I had a friend; a suppossed "good" friend that I put HUGE effort into. Well this person was a complete flake and I started to pull back. Eventually I pulled back completely. Pretty soon we didn't spend any time together, didn't talk and soon we weren't even what I would consider friends. A few months passed and the person finally approached me and asked me why I was mad at them. What the hell do they think? It wasn't exactly that I was mad, it was that I can't be the only one giving. Ok, so on some level, yes I was mad. But that wasn't the whole of it; APPRECIATE THAT I WAS YOUR FRIEND! Make some effort on your part as well.

Appreciation goes for many things; FAMILY, friends, co-workers, assistants, dog walkers, car washers, SUBWAY workers...we tend not to appreciate people around us. People we commuicate and deal with on a daily basis. I know I forget to be thankful for Housekeeping who cleans our hotel rooms every day, my mum who does so much for me, my dad who is attached to my hip (just kidding Papa) or Amy who talks non-stop at work and entertains me. If we want to be appreciated why don't we start with appreciating those around us. We will easily be annoyed that McD's messed up our order, but we fail to be thankful that this time they go it right.

So, in appreciating, we must VOICE how we feel. Say, "I appreciate what you've done" or "I appreicate it when you...". Let's work on it and see how things start to change, how our outlook starts to change. I know I want to be appreciate as your friend, as a professional and as a human being.