Appreciation: (n) an expression of admiration approval, or gratitude

I was sitting in my loft office (Yes, it's very necessary for me to call it this. It makes me feel pretty. Pretty awesome.), and one of my clients' relatives came into the office. He said, "You know, Joey really loves your work." 

...

"Oh?" I repled.

"Don't tell him I told you, but when we were working out this morning, he told me how much he appreciates your work and how he enjoys having you around." he said. "Sometimes it's nice to hear, you know?"

"Yeah." I said. And I continued to do my work.

Did it feel good to know that I came up in a discussion outside of the office in a positive light? Of course. That ego of mine was stroked a little bit. It didn't mean as much though, as say Joey told me directly. It reminded me of a Mob scene in a movie where the Gopher says "Joey really likes you. You're good people. *SHOTS FIRED*" - Only without the shots.

This morning, I made a phone call to my boss, asking a few questions about a project, and he mentioned to me that he felt that I was a great part of the team and he's proud of my work.

That? That made me float on the moon.

Even if it WAS lip service, it made me feel good that he took the time out to say that nice thing to me. He could have just kept talking to his business associates about it, but he did some to me and express that to me. Because of that, I'll continue to work harder, consistently provide good work, and be inclined to take pride in my job. All because of one little sentence. 

Appreciation is a great thing. I have appreciation for a lot of clients, friends, family members, restaurants, etc. But I don't express that appreciation enough.

Appreciation isn't appreciation unless it's shown or expressed. It's just an inward feeling.

The word itself is a noun, as I pointed out. I'm an English geek so I do get WHY it's a noun, but as business owners, associates, employees,  and all around people, we need to act on this feeling of appreciation. We need to put more emphasis on SHOWING appreciation. Make that feeling into an action.

Hell, let's just write to Webster and ask them to De-Noun the word. Make it a verb. That way we can't even USE the word unless it's an action.

Tell your people that you appreciate them today. Trust me, they'll appreciate it, in the form of quality work, stronger dedication, and all-around better attitude.