Appreciation

 Years ago I heard a story of a dad named Paul Halpern who gave his young son a small chalkboard. One evening his son called out from the bedroom, "How do you spell 'best'?" Paul answered and moments later the boy yelled again: "How do you spell 'kid'?" Finally the child asked, "How do you spell 'ever'?"

When the boy came to present his sentence, Paul expected to see a note saying, "I am the best kid ever." Instead, the boy beamed as he gave his dad this message: "You are the best dad a kid can ever have."
As Paul reports it, it was one of the best days of his life. In fact, he had to buy his son another chalkboard because he decided to save this message forever and hang it on his wall. It's still there.
Feeling appreciated is enormously important to adults as well as children. So much so that we often don’t think enough about what we'd most like to be appreciated for.
Being appreciated at work is a big deal. Who doesn't want approval and respect from their bosses and co-workers? Beyond the economic value of raises, promotions and commendations of all sorts are gratifying and motivating. That's why good employers look for opportunities to sincerely acknowledge and thank employees for their contributions.
Yet as meaningful as this sort of recognition at work is, if you could choose between winning your child's "Best Dad a Kid Can Ever Have" award and being named the "Best Employee," which would you choose?
The point is not to belittle the pursuit of approval in your business life, but to remind you how much more meaningful it is to know that you are important to and appreciated by the people who love you and need you the most. And your most important job in life is to be worthy of that appreciation.
Being the "best ever" mom or dad, husband or wife or friend -- it just doesn't get any better.