RazzWorks

I’ve read recently that when writing a post you should keep in mind who you are writing to. Well, this time I am writing to myself. Yup, that’s right, I’m the target audience! So feel free to eavesdrop, after all, I’m not going to be telling myself anything I haven’t already heard. Well anyway, I better get to writing myself a reminder message.

Do you from time to time get help from other people?

As you are well aware, sometimes it can be difficult to keep yourself motivated while trying to achieve your goals. That being said you need to keep in mind the things other people do for you, especially those things they do that help you to reach your goals and dreams. Therefore, you need to let them know. You can not read their minds, so your words and actions could be an inspiration for them. At the very least you need to be grateful, and appreciative for their actions and/or words.

If someone helps you out with anything, and as far as you know they aren’t getting anything out of it for themselves you need to be careful not to expect too much. They are giving you their time and their effort. Time is something you can not give back. You can not save time, borrow it, rent, or buy it. So do not waste their time by being demanding, or expecting them to do what you’re not willing to do yourself. If you expect too much from someone, they may still do it for you, however, there is a chance they will do a subpar job of it because they are doing it somewhat resentfully. They may not even realize it because some part of them may feel they have to do this.

The very first thing you ought to do is be thankful. Try thanking them before they even do anything. I know you’re very good at thanking people when they have done something for you. However, there is a chance you may have forgotten to do so once in a while. And I certainly know you are not very good at thanking people before they even start. So you might want to work on that. (wink, wink, nudge, nudge, know what I mean, know what I mean?) I also know that every once in a while you get a little cranky when you do something for someone and they don’t thank you. So imagine how someone might feel if you forgot to thank them. I’m not saying you don’t, just saying it could be possible. That’s why I think you should try working on saying thank you before they even start. It’ll help cover your bases.

Oh still on the subject of saying thank you. Another thing you could improve upon is when you ask for help and they do more than what you asked. Make sure to let them know that you noticed, they appreciate that. If you don’t work on letting them know how much you appreciate the extra effort they put in you’re risking the fact that, if they do help you out again, they might not put in as much effort, quality, or commitment. After all, why should they? So make sure to let them know how grateful you are for their help.

*Side note:
I just took a short break. While taking my break I was telling my editor (Roze) that I feel I just took a simple idea or concept and made it more difficult. She responded, “That’s ok, just don’t over explain and make them feel stupid”. I responded with “I certainly hope not because I’m writing to myself!”.

When friends or family, or whoever, does some simple task for you, or perhaps does something tedious, freeing you from doing it let them know how it helped you to be able to accomplish something else, or how it relieved stress for you in some way. By doing this you will help to inspire them to keep doing good for others. For example, maybe there is something you need to drop off somewhere. The person says “Oh here, give it to me I’m going that way anyway.” Get back to them later and let them know what benefit you got due to their kindness. A possible situation could be that someone stopped by for a visit. If you were off doing the errand yourself you would not have been home and therefore wouldn’t have gotten to see the person that came to visit you. Basically, you want to make sure to let them know that they make a difference in your life and what they do does matter.

One more thing. Don’t neglect the people that help you regularly. I know it’s easy to forget because it’s become so common, that you almost take it for granted. This also includes people that you may not see very often however, every time you do see them, they are always being so helpful, that it seems normal. Make sure you spend some quality time with them. Truly listen and pay attention to what they have to say. Bring them a coffee from time to time, or take them out for coffee or lunch. Give them a random gift that you know they will appreciate or could use. If they ask why just be honest and tell them you noticed how great a friend they have been. Or how over the years they have always been so kind and helpful and you’re just trying to return the favor any way you can. This way they know you do value them.

That’s all I wanted to let you know. Go and inspire people to keep being as great as they are and make sure they know how you appreciate them being in your life.

By the way, don’t expect me to be continuously writing posts to you all the time. I got more important people to be writing to like those nice people who are eavesdropping right now. You know what you should be doing, now get to it, and be sure to be thankful for the people who spend their valuable time reading your blah blah blah stuff.

Razz