The Cycle of Giving and Receiving
Are you as gracious and generous of a receiver as you are a giver?
I hope you are.
Candidly, I’m not — or haven’t been. Especially when it comes to praise, appreciation, and gratitude.
I had a lot of unlearning to do. Unlearning about pride and a warped sense of false humility.
Hopefully, I’m getting better.
I started to notice it a couple of years ago as I became more vocal in expressing gratitude to others.
Something happens when you express you express gratitude to others…
They return gratitude to you. (The boomerang effect of gratitude is real!)
The more gratitude I began to express to others, the more frequent gratitude was being returned to me.
The unpleasant truth?
I couldn’t deflect the gratitude coming my way fast enough.
Suddenly it was gratitude poker…
Someone said, “Kevin, I’m grateful for you…”
Internally, a betting began…
Was I playing Texas Holdem…with gratitude as the chips.
The silent thoughts — OH, I’ve got to ‘call’ their gratitude and raise it.
“I’m grateful for you too…” (wait, am I trying to out-grateful their gratitude?)
It was painful to realize.
If, or when we get serious about growing gratitude…we need to become as gracious, eager, and ready to receive it as we are to give it.
This quote from Maya Angelou,
“When we give cheerfully and accept gratefully, everyone is blessed.”
Giving and receiving create a virtuous cycle!
Don’t rob someone of the joy of their giving because you aren’t willing to receive what they are cheerfully giving. That includes gratitude!
Try this. The next time someone gives you a compliment or extends gratitude to you…resist your urge resist or deflect and try this super simple two word response…
THANK YOU!!
That’s all you need to say… and it’s what you do to receive.
Don’t rob someone of the joy of giving… or expressing gratitude. Don’t try to out-grateful them.
Receive it.
Try it today. See what happens when you receive the gratitude (and compliments) coming your way.
After all, as Steve Foran, CSP wrote, “You are worthy and you have much to be grateful for.”
Are you excited to build a habit of cultivating gratitude in your daily life?
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