Appreciation Motivates Us Like Nothing Else Does

I have been developing an app to manage design specifications of the projects in production at work. I have been developing it all alone without knowing If the app will be accepted by the management and my colleagues. When working alone, it is hard to keep the motivation high, day after day. There are periods where you doubt your work. Such periods make you think If you are working on the right thing. 

I was going through one of those periods. I know I am trying to solve a problem and there is a good chance this tool will be a success. But there is no guarantee the customers (in my case my colleagues and management) will accept and use the tool. For the past several weeks, I have invested most of my spare time in this tool. What if it is a complete failure? What if they don’t like it? What if…? What if…?

As I was going through this, I remembered reading about product validation by interviewing and involving the end-users early in the product development. I took the advice and demonstrated the app to a few folks at work this week. Everyone loved it. I came out of the demo energized. My self-doubt disappeared. 

Later that day, I got the below message from one of my colleagues who were in the demo. 

We get motivated for many different reasons. But an appreciation motivates us like nothing else does. Appreciation keeps us going when going gets tough.

I have never been a person who appreciates others easily. But it is a skill I need to learn. Appreciation can lift someone’s day. It can even change someone’s life. Appreciation is one of those things in life you cannot measure the impact it creates on others. 

The opposite is true as well. Criticism discourages us easily. Instead of blunt criticism, make it constructive feedback instead. 

Be generous with appreciation and constructive with your criticism.