Appreciation at home and during the festive season!
‘Love ignites the hidden light in us and in the other. Love changes the way we see others and ourselves. We feel beautiful when we are loved, and to evoke an awareness of beauty in another is to give them a precious gift they will never lose. When we say from our heart to someone, ’you are beautiful’, it is a recognition and invocation of the dignity, grandeur and grace of their spirit.’ – John O’Donohue
Appreciation in your family is a culture that you have to consciously build and maintain. That is often a great blessing for generations for the health, self-confidence and self-esteem of your children and yourself. It is of course true that a beautiful family culture of appreciation is not automatically maintained. Every generation must maintain this culture and breathe new life into it again and again.
In his book Visionary Leadership author Burt Nanus describes how children can best develop into healthy leaders. If you read the following ten tips from him, you will soon see how these tips can also contribute to a culture of appreciation within the family.
- Support your children in their self-esteem and self-respect.
- Offer the opportunity to try out different skills.
- Challenge them to take responsibility for their own actions.
- Give sincere compliments.
- Express respect and admiration for the growth of their skills.
6. Motivate them to grow in their imagination and creativity, because these are the sources of their vision and dreams.
7. Train your children’s communication skills, both verbally and in writing.
8. Teach your children to be teachable. Train them to be the explorer anytime, anywhere. Offer them the opportunity to gain many different experiences.
9. Help your children discover their unique talents and help them to develop those talents.
10. Tell your children the stories of leaders, big and small, who have taken on responsibility. Challenge them to contribute to the well-being of their immediate environment.
Tips to build an Appreciative family:
- Write a letter to each other describing 5 things you appreciate about the specific family member.
- Each week appreciate each other for 2 actions they did that week.
- Make this festive season a time of appreciation. Have an appreciation dinner with the family.
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This blog series is written by Paul Ch. Donders, author of his new book, Appreciation.
Restoring the dignity in humanity
Get your copy of the Appreciation Book for R170 today. During this festive season we would like to appreciate you by giving you the option of buying 10 copies or more for R120 (incl. vat) per copy. Courier costs not included. Contact us at 079 434 9030 or info-sa@xpand.eu