My mother-in-law is a retired schoolteacher. She was a school teacher for more than 40 years and she always loved her job and working with children. A few years back, I remember being in Sweden and there was a bit of a buzz in the air. Everyone we met asked if she had seen the article in the newspaper.
She smiled and nodded. There was an article from an old student of hers who said she, herself, had become a teacher because she was fortunate enough to have had my mother- in-law as her teacher. It was my mother-in-law that inspired her to go into teaching. It was a beautifully written piece that showed genuine appreciation.
As part of my business mentor Selena Soo’s program, we were talking about how you can add value to people’s lives and some of the ways that came up were to show your appreciation. This can be done in so many ways, by paying them a compliment, publicly expressing gratitude like giving a shout out or testimonial, sending a thoughtful card or gift and more.
What I particularly liked about this case was that she wanted to show her appreciation even it was years later and it was totally unexpected. It was such a nice surprise for my mother-in-law and very well deserved. Imagine the many lives she must have touched in all her years as a teacher.
Where can you show appreciation?