PRAISE IS BLOG WORTHY

There is false praise and there is deserved praise. And I’m beginning to think that whether you receive the former or the latter, the effect of praise on a life is incalculably great. Have you ever been praised? If not, I’ll bet you’ve either been or are angry and cynical. You have a tinge of jealousy at the sight of the success of others. You once gave up on a sport, an activity or piano lessons because you attempted mastery of something in an environment devoid of praise. Bold accusations. Unfair? Inaccurate? No to the first question and maybe to the second but I doubt it.

Praise is underrated though we may feel otherwise. It is freely given to certain gifted members of our society catapulting them into a level of stardom that feeds on itself. People become elites because of praise. Praise is both a drug and an impetus. Wantonly given it can make an athlete more confident than he should be but in its proper dosage it is the difference between finishing what you started and moving on to the next pursuit. Praise is powerful.

Not only is receiving praise a stimulus for greatness but giving it is as well. We’re familiar with praise in the Christian vernacular. You want to know why preachers admonish parishioners to praise God? According to my own pastor praise is a reminder that you are NOT limited to the vices of this world. You “are better than that” as trite as it sounds – better than addiction, better than imploding your marriage and better than abandoning your children. Praise is a reminder that you’re a part of the creative genius and that God can and does equip people to thrive through and beyond crises. If you think horizontally, couldn’t praise work the same way when we give it to friends, strangers and the students/athletes we impact? Praising someone else doesn’t diminish YOU. If it’s cyclical, praise will give life to the aspirations that reveal the best you have. The artist, the songwriter and the guy who finally made an NBA roster after playing in the NBA Development League all need a healthy amount of praise. Some would like to believe they’ve gotten where they are without it but chances are that if you’re a “self-made” man you’re fueled not by a desire to be your best but rather by anger and the need to establish an identity. Wanting to prove others wrong is not the same as believing that you’re where you’re supposed to be. Praise makes you strong when you receive it and when you give it.