Acknowledgement is brilliant

There are a lot of ways to tell people something. Generally people tend to tell you when something goes wrong "You sir are an idiot... now fix it" and when you do, you hear nothing. Gratitude and appreciation for someone's work can be worth more than money could be. You can get paid large amounts of money to do something and do it right. There is no denying that a large piece of money is a good thing. But nothing feels better than a "Thanks" or "Great job mate, couldn't have done it without you" when you know you've done well.

Yes, acknowledgement is brilliant.

Even recognition for something you do is nice once in a while. As an IT guy you are only ever called when there's trouble. Generally people are thankful, but never make you aware of it. Or they do, by paying your bill three months later. By this stage you have lost twice as much as the jobs worth in chasing what it was originally worth.

This isn't just about work though. It can be things around the home and with friends. In fact, your entire life. But there comes a time when you have done all the thanking you can thank and given recognition for all the things that need to be recognised. If you don't get any back, you soon start to feel that maybe what you're doing isn't worth it to anyone else.... at least not enough to receive a thank you in some way, shape or form.

I thrive on recognition. You could curse at me all day, end with a "Thanks for your help" and I'll still be your friend. Say nothing, and I'll probably walk away thinking you're an ungrateful bastard!

:p

Then there's the other side of the coin.... yes, there's a third side... when even with your best efforts you get derogatory comments, or worse still, no feedback at all. This just breeds doubt and only fuels assumption. Luckily I'm not afraid to ask questions, and generally the more confronting the better. I enjoy watching people get tested to their ends with a question they themselves are to afraid to ask the person staring at them in the mirror.

But even after all that is said and done, a "Thank you" can fix it all. Like a bad story with a happy ending. People don't remember the middle parts, just the beginning and the end. Beginnings always start with out with happy intentions. The middle part can determine the finale. But in the end you have the power to make the finale a positive one and why not leave it with a "Job well done, thanks so much for your help"

"Aww, you did the dishes" not "Did you do the dishes with your eyes closed?.... Because you missed a couple on the table and this one still has bits of food on it."

"Aww, thanks for doing the vacuuming" not "You missed under the couch, next time get it right."

If this happens often to you I'm afraid to say that the future is bleak. You'll eventually become jaded and broken. Everyone, without even a chance will be considered a bloody ungrateful bastard or bitch. Sad, but true. This can always go further too. You could end up taking into consideration that you aren't really good at anything and no matter how hard you try, it's never good enough.

I suffer from the latter. I try so hard because I feel I'm not doing good enough that I start to have other things around me suffer. When I tried to find a balance point it made things worse because everything suffered slightly. I can concentrate on one thing and make it good, then everything else falls to the side. This isn't always about us though. It could be about someone else. When you try to live up to someone else's expectations, and in order to not leave them disappointed, you drop everything to make them happy. Meanwhile, twenty other people are all disgruntled with what you have done to them because all of a sudden it seems I don't have the time for them any more.

So, what is a person to do when in a situation like this?

My opinion is, screw them. If they have put up a certain expectation of you, that's their bad luck. Maybe they need to read my entry from a couple of days ago about expect nothing to get results. But another part of me that genuinely likes to make people happy and I'm only happy when they are, as a result takes me away from everything else. Based on my above opinion, screw everyone and tell them to get real. But it's easier said then done. Someone still has to vacuum and wash up, and as long as someone is doing it, someone else who isn't will have an opinion on how it's done. Where people do such things, maybe they can take a step back for a second and perhaps come to realise that it might not have been done to your expectations, but at least you didn't have to do it. Be thankful, grateful then move on.