How do we appreciate people?
With Valentine’s day right around the corner, it’s a great question to ask.
Regardless of our manufactured holidays, most of us offer love and appreciation in the same way we’d like to receive it, which often doesn’t work.
Gary Chapman’s work, The Five Love Languages helps us do better and his work with Dr. Paul White helps us with appreciation in the workplace.
To simplify, there are five basic ways of expressing love and appreciation:
- Words of appreciation
- Acts of service
- Physical Touch (a challenging one in the workplace and this past year)
- Quality Time
- Gifts
The retail world has capitalized on Gifts, while many of us would rather receive a loving note, time spent together, a hug or something done for or with us even more.
When we offer our appreciation or love in the way others prefer, it resonates clearly, has greater impact and connects us more deeply. It’s often a missed message because we do what is comfortable and logical to us, not what the other person is most receptive to.