The Power of One Good Word

“One kind word can warm three winter months” - Japanese Proverb

Make a journal to write down only your successes. Every time you succeed at something, no matter how small, write it down. One study recently found this brings you tremendous self esteem, power and effectiveness.

I wish I’d paid more attention to the news clip when my radio alarm woke me up that morning. I’d like to find this study and know more about it.

Hearing a “well done” or a “thank you” from others is important. It’s said we can survive 3 minutes without air. Three hours on average without shelter. Three days without water. Three weeks without food. Three months without love. When others can’t be there with kind words, at least our success journal can speak to us.

The suicide of David B. Kellermann, CEO of Freddie Mac, is a sad symbol of what’s happening in the world today. The New York Times also quoted an anonymous Freddie Mac executive, “The pressure right now is relentless…Everyone in the financial sector, regardless of where you work, is constantly told both that this is our fault, and that we have to work as hard as possible, otherwise the nation will fall apart.”

Of course it’s not just the financial world. The Vancouver Sun reported 5 years ago: half of 2000 doctors surveyed are “in an advanced phase of burnout, characterized by emotional exhaustion, cynicism and feelings of ineffectiveness in their work.”

Granted, a success manual probably isn’t all you need. Yet I’d say it’s an important item in your survival gear.

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