Recognizing someone for their actions can be very powerful, for both parties. Is there anyone that you’d like to give a shout out to right now?
Everyone like to be appreciated. It feels good, to know that someone else recognizes and appreciates what you do. It may not be necessary, or the reason you do what you do, but being thanked can carry you through difficult times.
And yet, even though we crave recognition from others, we can be slow to provide that recognition ourselves. We can get caught up in the minutia of our everyday lives, and it slips our mind.
One way of providing that thanks is the simple shout out. The shout out is a public mention of someone else, usually for a particular thing that the other person has done.
While it is possible, and in some cases preferable, to keep your thanks private, the public shout out serves another purpose. Beyond thanking someone else for their efforts, and beyond showing gratitude for the acts of others, the shout out shows other people the kind of things that you value. It also lets others know that the the person being recognized displays that behavior.
In other words, showing your thanks publicly can be good on a number of levels.
With that in mind, who in your life has done something you’d like to recognize? Is there someone — or several someones — to whom you’d like to give a shout out?
Related questions: How are you underappreciated? How can we appreciate life more? What does it mean to be thankful?
I’d like to give a shout-out to HOME Line’s staff. I am especially grateful to Eric Hauge, Mike Vraa, and Deb Riebel, HOME Line’s management team, for keeping our nonprofit in tip-top shape despite the pandemic we’ve all been living through. They’ve kept our financial and organizational ship in order. Also, with guidance from Eric, Mike, and Deb, the rest of HOME Line’s crew have kept:
• our statewide tenant hotline well-staffed (which requires the assistance of a number of volunteers to keep up with the number of calls) and responsive to the general needs of tenants as well as reliable concerning the particular circumstances during this COVID-era;
• our organizing efforts strong, focused, and impactful in communities throughout the metro area;
• our education programming robust and relevant to the needs of tenants, social workers and their nonprofits, state and local administrators as well as landlords; and
• our policy work engaged, authoritative, and powerful in an era of remote decision-makers on local and state levels.
I am proud to work with such a dedicated, fantastic, and fun team.