I once read a poignant Reader’s Digest article about a little girl who often misbehaved. Her mother had to continually reprimand her. However, one day, the little girl had been especially good and hadn’t done a single thing that called for a reprimand. The mother said, “That night after I tucked her in bed and started downstairs, I heard a muffled noise. Running back up, I found her head buried in the pillow. She was sobbing. Between the sobs she asked, ‘Mommy, haven’t I been a pretty good girl today?’”
The question, the mother said, went through her like a knife.
“I had been quick to correct her,” she said, “when she was wrong. But when she tried to behave, I hadn’t noticed it and I put her to bed without one word of appreciation.” Adults are all grown-up little girls and little boys. We may not go to bed sobbing if the people in our lives don’t notice when we are good. Nevertheless, a trace of those tears lingers.
Source: How to talk to anyone (Leil Lowndes)
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