Over the weekend I read a great book by Ken Blanchard and Spencer Johnson called "The One Minute Manager". 



One of the things that stood out to me was the idea of "catching someone doing things right". In other words, instead of telling an employee where they did wrong, and how they need to change their behavior, you set aside time to praise them for something done RIGHT.

In life, we're all experts at telling:

• our spouse when they upset us,
• our boss that we're frustrated with work
• a subordinate that they didn't make their targets
• a store or company that their customer service is horrible

but how often do we go out of our way to say, "hey, that was a great job, you really fulfilled my expectations!"  I know I'll run right over to a store when something I buy doesn't work properly, or breaks, but I never think to go there when what I bought works out beyond my expectations.  I'll complain to the phone company when they overcharge me, but I never call them to tell them that this month's service met my expectations.

So, I got to thinking, what would my day be like if I focused on what went RIGHT and then gave PRAISE - to myself for meeting a small goal, to the coffee shop cashier for making a great cup of coffee, to my parents or spouse for something that would normally go unnoticed?  I found that the experience makes me feel uplifted, walk taller, smile bigger, because the action of praise for a small deed often sparks something positive in another person, and the feeling is contagious!

Try it out for yourself - notice the reactions you get, and how the action of consciously looking for what went RIGHT in your day feels within your being.