Sticks And Stones - Words Not Said

Sticks and Stones - Words Not Said

TO WHOM DO you owe an apology?

Whom should you have thanked last week?

Whom do you appreciate that you still haven’t told?

We live in a world that moves at warp speed, but it takes only seconds to say thank you to someone who has done something nice for you. Aren’t you hurt when others fail to express their appreciation for a sacrifice you’ve made or a service you’ve bestowed? Guess what—I guarantee, regardless of how good we all think we are at saying thank you . . . we fail to acknowledge people in our lives every day. Don’t believe me? When’s the last time you thanked your husband for his support, for working so hard to take care of you financially and/or emotionally, for loving you? See? . . .

And it happens at our workplaces, too. We work in a macho-professional, dog-eat-dog environment where it’s expected that people give 150 percent. But aren’t you disappointed when others don’t comment on your contribution to a project? Of course you are. But guess what—I guarantee, regardless of how good we think we are, we, too, fail to acknowledge the contributions of others, from our team members to our bosses. Don’t believe me? Walk down the aisle of cubes and ask yourself, When was the last time I congratulated someone for their great work? See? . . .

We express our disapproval verbally and physically (you should see the hand gestures used on Central Expressway in Dallas by irate commuters) every day but often fail to share words of encouragement or appreciation. We make excuses that we either don’t have the time or that we don’t know what words to use. It takes only thirty seconds, and you don’t have to be a poet to say

Thank you. I know this was a sacrifice for you to invest your resources—both time and money—on my behalf.

I appreciate you. You have really gone out of your way to support me and my projects, and you have been such an important contributor to the outcome of this endeavor.

I apologize. I sometimes get too busy and caught up in my own affairs to really consider others. I’m sorry.

Do not withhold good from those who deserve itwhen it’s in your power to help them. (Proverbs 3:27)

Life is short, and we have a limited number of days to say important words. So often, it is the words that go unsaid that hurt the most.