The Stamp Of Approval

The title of this mini podcast is The Stamp of Approval.

I can't imagine how big a person's ego has to be to want their face on a postage stamp.

But I'm sure those folks exist.

The rest of us, we're just looking for a stamp of approval.

At some level, we all went recognition.

We want to be seen.

In a strange way, recognition confirms we exist that we're not just drifting through

the day unnoticed.

If you think you don't care about recognition, try this little experiment.

The next time you're in line with the grocery store, notice how you feel if the cashier

spends the whole time chatting with the bagger and never wants to acknowledge you.

No eye contact, no hi, hello, kiss my ass or anything.

Except, that'll be $35.98.

That little twinge of irritation you feel, that's the feeling of not being recognized.

That recognition alone isn't enough.

We also want approval.

Sometimes we chase approval for what we do.

Our accomplishments, our work, our good deeds.

But that kind of approval is a bit surface level.

The deeper approval we are really after is much simpler.

It's attention.

One of the greatest gifts you can give another human being is your attention.

When you truly pay attention to someone, you're telling them, you matter.

Without attention, there's no real bonding agent in the interaction.

Words get exchanged, but nothing really sticks.

And we feel that absent immediately.

When someone doesn't give us their attention, it feels like quiet disapproval, even if they're

nodding and smiling.

Attention in a very real way is the stamp of approval.

So pay attention, literally, to how little attention we sometimes give in everyday interactions.

When our mind is somewhere else, the person in front of us can feel it.

But when you give someone your undivided attention, something interesting happens.

They feel valued.

They light up a little, and almost always that attention finds its way back to you.

Both people walk away a little richer.

So maybe the U.S. Postal Service ought to issue a brand new stamp.

They could call it the stamp of approval.

My guess?

It would end up being their bestseller.

All the best.

Ciao.