Praise and Self Satisfaction

I am an avid ebay shopper. I like getting more for my money! Don't you? I recently, accidentally, purchased an Apple iPod with so much music capacity it amazes the mind. How all that stuff/music/movies/podcasts, etc., fits on this shinny little thing is beyond me. But, I digress... I was playing with my new toy here this morning, tickled to death, yet little confused still as to how to use it and I thought, "oh! I have to go and leave feedback!"

I logged into ebay, went to the area where you leave feedback and wrote how satisfied I am with my purchase. Which is VERY satisfied. The ipod is a refurbished ipod that I was bidding on for fun. Meaning, I liked the price of it and so in the last 4 minutes of bidding, I put 148.50, then 151.92 (imagine winning by .02?) and I clicked submit and it said, "Congratulations! You won!" I was like... Oh hell... LOL. And that's how I became the proud owner of my new toy. So, since I got it at a discount, I bought every adapter known to man for it, also at a discounted price which did bring me up to the full price I would have paid, yet if you think about it, I still saved money because the adapter for the car alone would have been $70.00 and I got it for $17.99. I bought all the other adapters, chargers, screen protecters etc., for a mere $13.99! Man, I tell you, saving money sure makes me happy. Course, this purchase was on accident this time and I had some misgivings about spending the money for the ipod, but since I love music so much, I figure the universe must think I needed one.

Anyway, I've digressed again, not shocking. So, I went and left feedback because I was so impressed with the condition of this refurbished ipod! While I was in that window, there is a section you go where the sellers give feedback about the purchaser. I have quite a number of them there, like I said, I am an avid shopper. I never make a purchase unless I have money in my paypal account or the adjoining account because if I don't have the cash, I'm not charging anything and living beyond my means. Just makes good sense to me.

I start reading some of the feedback left by the sellers for me. I realize that these people don't know me. Yet, it's interesting how our actions really do show others a little bit about who we are and further, how much they appreciate it. It all may seem silly but I assure you that when you have a good transaction/dealing with someone, you are impressed. I usually am anyway.

So, I'm reading through the feedback left for me, all saying prompt payment and great to work with, excellent buyer, all giving me A+++++ at the end of their statements... and I start feeling pretty good. I find myself grinning, then smiling, then my mood lifted a little bit and I thought how such a small thing, this feedback from complete strangers made me feel lighter.

My body began to release some apparent tension I didn't realize was there, I felt pleased at the comments and then I felt proud of myself. See, we can talk all we want about certain things but all that talk doesn't mean anything unless we back it up with action. To me, I talk about budgeting and money issues with my friends all the time. My accomplishment here, which these people didn't realize they were complimenting, is the work I have done on managing my finances better. I don't just slap things on a credit card because I have poor impulse control or because everyone else has one. I save the cash, I do research on an item and then I make a purchase on the spot. That's a nice accomplishment. Especially since the world seems to run on impulse and instant gratification so often.

Every time I read a postive compliment from these seller's it reminded me of my accomplishments. That's a pretty good feeling!

My point is that we should never underestimate how good it is to receive praise or postive feedback from someone. One thing leads to another and before you know it, you can feel pretty good about yourself. Don't forget to praise someone else either... if it feels that good to you, imagine how good you can make someone else feel :)

That's my thought for today!