when people tell you that they love what you do – believe them
i think i have probably shared here before that i am an over-achiever slash perfectionist.
growing up, i was the “smart one”.
the first time i realized i was the smart one i was in year 5 and i won an award for having the top marks of my grade level. before that i knew i was smart of course, but that is when i officially became “the smart one” and also officially got addicted to achieving top marks. yep…
my name is karen and i am addicted to A+’s
even when i started my career as a teacher i was still getting a report card of sorts – we received yearly evaluations and had to sit down with our principal & grade and subject leaders to be evaluated.
even as a teacher i still wanted to receive A+’s.
growing up and through my career i learned what i needed to do to be the top of my class. and i happily did it.
but the trouble is, now as a business owner, no one is giving me a report card. i have no boss or team leader or project manager or principal evaluating me, giving me gold stars or A+’s or report cards.
as business owners where does our evaluation and validation come from?
the feedback we get from our clients & customers.
what i find interesting is that everything we do, we do it for them.
we aim to be of service. we aim to solve problems. we aim to connect with them.
but when they tell us that they love us, how deeply do we believe them?
what is your response when someone tells you they absolutely adore what you do?
- do you brush it off? “oh it’s nothing…”
- do you change the subject?
- do you say thank you but then promptly dismiss it in your mind?
- do you feel uncomfortable or unworthy or embarrassed?
- do you chalk it up to luck, or people just being nice?
it’s funny isn’t it?
it’s like praise coming from a boss is great, but praise coming from a customer feels like “they are just being nice.”
(and then deep down we wonder… what if i’m not really doing a good enough job?)
but think about it.
if you took the time to email someone to tell them why you love what they do, that wouldn’t be you “just being nice” – that would be genuine, heartfelt praise, wouldn’t it?
when someone tells you they love what you do, believe them!
it’s ok to accept praise
it’s ok to believe the praise
it’s ok to be proud of the praise
it’s ok to tell the world that you are proud of the praise
it’s ok to agree with the praise
it’s ok to feel worthy of the praise
it’s ok to own that praise – to let it become another layer of confidence and worthiness and belief.
the next time someone tells you that you are awesome please try one of the following:
- screen cap it and share it
- create a shareable image with that feedback and share it
- copy and paste it and put it on your praise page on your website
- print it out and put it on your wall beside your workspace
- ring up your bestie or your hubby and say guess what i just heard
in other words… don’t just say “oh thanks” and then push it aside… say “thanks” and then OWN IT.
let it sink in. let it become part of your strong foundation.