Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Receiving a Message in a Bottle

Today I was thinking about a piece of advice a friend gave me a week ago.  It wasn't all that profound, and he said it casually.  I thought about what it meant, why I reacted to it in a certain way, and how I could use it to improve myself in the future.

As I thought it over in my mind, it occurred to me how he had no idea that I was giving his comment so much attention.  Although he said the statement, he probably never thought it would have such an impact on me, even if only for a short while.  I saw him again today, and I made no notion of the positive effect his advice had on me.

Most of the time we don't realize the impact of a small interaction, such as a compliment or a polite gesture.  The beneficial effects don't immediately return to us, giving us no confirmation of their success.  Like a message in a bottle sent out to sea, the destination and impact of the message is unknown.  But if you have a piece of paper, a pen, and a bottle, you should consider making one.

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