Hey You, Good Job!

I was cleaning the rotisserie oven at work one day when a little boy went by being pushed in a shopping cart. He looked at me, smiled, and very sincerely said, "You're doing a good job!" Kudos to his parents for obviously praising him for all of his good efforts.

I was thinking how nice it was to hear that "Good job!" We usually only notice when people do something wrong. How much nicer would it be if we paid the majority of attention to what everyone is doing right--especially at home. "Hey, thanks for putting your back pack away." "Great job making dinner, Dad." "Way to brush those teeth!" I know when someone notices the things I do right it makes me want to do even better. Criticism just makes me wonder why I bother trying in the first place.