Recognition…. a kind of ‘Pay it Forward’

I want my article to be meaningful so that i can connect with readers. I want to start with the concept of ‘Pay it Forward’.  In the movie, Trevor,  an 11 year old boy presents his teacher Mr. Simonet (played by Kevin Spacey) with a new concept by which to ‘change the world’… a pretty formidable task for  a young boy or for anybody for that matter.

The concept of course was to do an unsolicited favors for three other persons, obligating each of them to also do favors for three others with this exponential expansion of the simple process until it the favors and good deeds had circled the planet.  The favors or deeds were to be things that were challenging for us,  and there was to be no strings attached or expectation of  return (hence the difference from ‘pay-back’).   A pretty powerful and exciting concept which really took hold of the hearts and minds of the movie’s audiences  worldwide and did in fact lead to virtually millions of these positive interactions, often with complete strangers!  The goodwill continues, I’m sure, to spread across our planet to this day.  If you haven’t seen the movie, this is one that you really should make a point of seeing.

Recognition can be just like that, and so I feel equally positive about the prospect of changing the world by using that particular skill.  We may not make changes that are noticeable at a global level and that’s just fine- we can change OUR world… and improve the lives of those around us!  We can help others to see, for example, the good within themselves and to appreciate their own strengths and what they can contribute to their families and to their workplaces… how important is that?

So I encourage you to think about recognition, in this my inaugral blog note, as a very real kind of pay it forward.   Look in on my blogs every day and add your thoughts… share with other!  Let’s  actually make a better world by recognizing others more often, and more competently for what they do well! Let’s reveal to them just how wonderful they are and increase the hope they can have about their future…    Recognize well!