Do you enjoy giving people or businesses testimonials or writing a review for a hotel, restaurant, etc.?
What if giving someone a testimonial or acknowledging them for something that they are really good at, or something that they’re being or contributing that they may not be aware of, could create a big difference in their life and in yours?
Yes, at times, it is wise to check in to see if people can receive it, and at times just smiling and saying “hi!” can make the biggest difference in someone’s life. You just don’t know the effect that smile has at the moment, yet how great do you feel when sharing the joy?
I love acknowledging, sharing, and giving testimonials when I experience something that I really enjoy/am happy about. I recently wrote a review of a hotel where I stayed and posted several pictures of the property. Not only did I receive a wonderful response from the hotel and other people considering the property, but it also helped to get the property voted as one of the properties on the Travelers’ Choice Destinations Award for 2015 on Trip Advisor! That made my day; I got to see the impact spreading good vibes had, which I was part of; how fun is that?
It has not always been something I could easily articulate when it comes to getting specific and clearly stating before & after results. I’m no toastmaster (yet), and I now get that a lot is energy that I simply didn’t have words to match what I wanted to express. So, sometimes all I could think to say was something random like, “You are awesome! I adore you!” While that is appreciated, people sometimes ask you to share what difference they or the product made.
I recently had some new shifts and awarenesses in this area. I’ve been in this amazing, life-changing mastermind group for the past year. Instead of writing testimonials, I wanted to create something special to express my gratitude to the facilitators and choose videos. I had a brainstorming session with myself, looking back at what was at stake a year ago and where I was today. I started writing down all the areas that had shifted and got the idea to create a random Top 10 list. I went out in nature and started, picked a topic at random, tuned in, and improvised what to say until all topics and peeps were covered and ended up creating a bunch of clips.
I had so much fun with this and got really clear in the process of what had shifted for me, what the contribution had been to me (so far), and what and how I had contributed to this co-creation. That was the priceless item for me, spreading joy and also receiving the contribution I am to the world, all this before sending it. I’ve been asking for that for a long time, way beyond this mastermind class. As I’m writing this, I’m inspired to create more.
No matter how it ends up being used on the receiving end, it has become a powerful tool for me. Gratitude 101, and that is my interesting POV. When you acknowledge from a space of gratitude and generosity, you often receive unexpected “stuff” back. It could be an acknowledgment back, and it could be something shifting in a completely different area of your life, and it could be you getting the greatness of you; how cool is that?
Most importantly (to me), I stay in a happy space that expands and generates independently how people choose to respond. Maybe it’s just me? Who in your life would appreciate a testimonial or gratitude note out of the blue from you? I wonder what awarenesses it would create for you? <smiling>
