ACKNOWLEDGEMENT: Awareness, recognition, and communication of an existing reality within your spouse’s life. _________________________________________________________ One of the best ways to acknowledge a person is to compliment them in an area of weakness. People are used to getting compliments in their areas of strength, but when you compliment a person in their area of weakness, they will be surprised. You may think, “What’s good to say about my spouse’s weakness?” You may even be afraid that your spouse will view your compliment as condescending if they’ve never received a compliment from you before. These are all valid points of consideration. However, the key to complimenting is “consistently” looking for opportunities to do it. We often times wait for something good to clearly reveal itself before we acknowledge it. But many times the best compliments are buried inside of a person, just waiting for someone to dig it out. Con-men are experts at digging out compliments and acknowledging things that are not readily apparent. “That’s a nice dress you’re wearing, it really accentuates your skin tone.” “You have a really beautiful way of looking at things.” “How did you get so smart?” These are the types of questions that con-men pose to penetrate the heart of vulnerable individuals. They simply dig out the good in people, then shower those same people with the good that they've identified. And guess what? The con-man usually gets access into vulnerable places that others cannot. He or she then uses his or her influence to satisfy his/her own personal agenda. This is the power of acknowledgment, even when used for unjust purposes.
As an exercise, try digging out a compliment from inside your spouse. Don’t wait for a compliment to reveal itself to you; dig deep for a compliment . Tell your spouse how much they have grown in a particular area. Or maybe share that you see their life becoming a blessing to others. Or simply let them know that you are blessed to be with them every step of the way. If done consistently enough, your spouse will realize that not only is the acknowledgement genuine, but the acknowledger is as well.
Acknowledgement is hard work and requires much skill, but is well worth the time and effort in order to save your marriage.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT: Awareness, recognition, and communication of an existing reality within your spouse’s life. _________________________________________________________ One of the best ways to acknowledge a person is to compliment them in an area of weakness. People are used to getting compliments in their areas of strength, but when you compliment a person in their area of weakness, they will be surprised. You may think, “What’s good to say about my spouse’s weakness?” You may even be afraid that your spouse will view your compliment as condescending if they’ve never received a compliment from you before. These are all valid points of consideration. However, the key to complimenting is “consistently” looking for opportunities to do it. We often times wait for something good to clearly reveal itself before we acknowledge it. But many times the best compliments are buried inside of a person, just waiting for someone to dig it out. Con-men are experts at digging out compliments and acknowledging things that are not readily apparent. “That’s a nice dress you’re wearing, it really accentuates your skin tone.” “You have a really beautiful way of looking at things.” “How did you get so smart?” These are the types of questions that con-men pose to penetrate the heart of vulnerable individuals. They simply dig out the good in people, then shower those same people with the good that they've identified. And guess what? The con-man usually gets access into vulnerable places that others cannot. He or she then uses his or her influence to satisfy his/her own personal agenda. This is the power of acknowledgment, even when used for unjust purposes.