Inspiration: Accepting Praise
Last week I began a new management training program at work.
The first session was about giving and receiving feedback... appropriate for all of us as we're going through our annual performance review period.
In the session we talked about how to give feedback to those on your teams, but then also how to receive feedback.
One of the most important things I learned from therapy (when I was doing it regularly) was the need to receive love and praise... or rather embracing the concept that you are worthy of love and recognition.
In close personal relationships, it's easy to block receiving the love of your spouse, partner, parent, sibling... there are a host of reasons why people struggle with that, but the end result of all of them is that we push away the people we care for the most. Sometimes it's a strong push, but usually it's a slow and subtle pressure that takes years to build to something we have to deal with.
But when we allow ourselves to be loved, that love enters, is magnified, and can't help but return back into our world. We are positively changed, and in turn, we positively affect those we love.
The same is true beyond our personal relationships.
The act of accepting praise and positive recognition from your boss, your colleagues, friends, and greater community is something we downplay, sometimes with a false sense of humility. We right off those who give us praise as either not knowing us well enough, or having ulterior motives, or just being kind.
Whatever the reason, we are simply finding new ways to prevent ourselves from believing in our own abilities/capabilities/selves. We can't accept praise because we don't believe we deserve it.
You Do.
Accepting praise and recognition for hard work goes so much farther than ourselves.
When we celebrate our accomplishments and victories, we not only celebrate ourselves, we provide a wealth of feedback to those around us. We light a path forward for others to follow, and when others follow, they experience growth and success in different ways, expanding that path of great work.