All the good things

vidhyalakshmid · Oct 8, 2005

Hi ladies,
This is a true story written by Sister Helen Mrosla of Minnesota.

Sister Helen was a nun teaching math in Minnesota. One friday in 1965, her class was having a lot of trouble understanding a math lesson. Even Mark, her nicest and funniest student was angry and frustated. Sister Helen decided it was time to try something different.

She had each student write the names of each class member and next to each name, something positive about that person. When they were finished, Helen collected all the papers and rewrote each classmates name on a separate piece of paper, along with the commen ts everyone had written. She then gave all the students the paper with their own name and comments about them.

Before long, the entire class was laughing and smiling, she heard students say `wow` and `I didnot know that`. The students were happy to hear all the nice things written about them. Some said they were surprised others thought so many good things about them. They walked out of math class confident and proud.

Several years later, Sister Helen was saddeded to hear Mark was killed in Vietnam. She attended the funeral with many of his high school friends. After the burial, Mark`s parents walked up to her and told her they had found Mark`s list from the math class in his military uniform. The paper was worn and taped in many spots. Mark`s father now carried it in his pocket. Mark`s mother thanked Helen for making Mark feel so good about himself.

Mark`s classmates who heard the women talking smiled and started telling their stories.

Charlie smiled and said `I still have my list`. It is in the top drawer of my desk at home. Chuck said `I asked my wife to put my list in our wedding album`.
Vicki reached into her purse, took out her wallet and showed everyone her torn and stained list `I carry this with me all the time. I think everyone in that class saved their list`.

Sister Helen sat down and cried. She cried for Mark and for all his friends who would never see him again. She thought of something she had read when she had decided to try the list in her math class
sometimes the smallest of things mean the most to another.
What you think friends?

Shakthi · Oct 8, 2005

100% True

Hi Vidhyalakshmi,

"sometimes the smallest of things mean the most to another" - 100% True

I enjoyed reading this snipet a lot. Thank you for posting it.

It rekindled my memories of my ex-workplace - an MNC that I worked. We had a off-site conducted by our department and our department VP wanted to conduct something different than the normal games.

He asked the secretary of the department to pass on a piece of paper to everyone that had 5 colleagues of our department listed in it. Everyone had 5 names in their paper (especially those with whom each of us had to work closely) and we were to write the "POSITIVES" that we found in each of them.

The secretary then took the paper back from all of us. None of us had a clue why our VP wanted to us to write it down and hand it over back to the secretary.

After 3 or 4 days, in a department meeting he called out each of our names and handed over a small laminated card in the size of a visiting card. Guess what? That card had the name of that person in BOLD and listed the positives that was written by 5 other colleagues.

Everyone of us felt so happy reading each of our card. So I have experienced this personally. It matters a lot - you feel so good to know somebody telling the positive in you. You know what, I still preserve the card and I have it safe in my file in the cupboard. I always used to wonder our VP could not have conducted anything motivating and feeling good than this did in the off-site.

Now I understand he too could have picked up the idea from Sister Helen.

Thanks to you once again for a great posting.

varalotti · Oct 8, 2005

A Nice Post Vidhyalakshmi!

Indusladies is a great site. There are posts which make you smile, which make you laugh out aloud, which make you think seriously, which make you run up to the kitchen and try a new recipe or go back to your husband with a fresh outlook. But very few posts make you cry. And yours is one. How many times do we miss the opportunity of saying the positive things to our friends, to our mates, children, parents and colleagues? At the end of the day, at the end of our careers, at the end of our lives, most of us would die with two great regrets
a) we have not said many good things about others and
b) we have said too many bad things about others
May your post be a lesson to all of us. Let us from this day say as many good things as possible to as many people as possible and as many times as possible.
You made my day, Vidhyalakshmi! May you be blessed!
sridhar

lakshmisuresh12 · Oct 8, 2005

Really Good.......

This post is really really true and good.........
It made me think positive..........
Awesome..............!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Regards.

ambika ananth · Oct 8, 2005

great post

GREAT POST VIDHYALAKSHMI. I am sure everybody would have read this piece with a film of tears in eyes and deep ache in heart.

How very very true...that positive words from others are what we cling to in our lowest moments....
Thanks
ambika

meenaprakash · Oct 9, 2005

I rushed to pick my list...................

Hello Vidhya,

That was a wonderful post and after reading it I rushed to my room and picked up my list....... yes.. we have done this in college.

We were asked to write positive qualities that we find in our friends / other class-mates, we were asked to randomly select and were given just few minutes and were asked to read it out loud --------

Years have flown by but I still preserve my list even after 12 years.. since we were not given enough time we had to just tear a piece of paper and we just did like any other assignment but I tell you even today I have this uneven, torn at folds, delicate paper with me and I wanna share this with my daughter when she grows a little more so she can understand ....

thanx for this wonderful post that made me go down the memory-lane........

Shal · Nov 2, 2005

Reminiscences...

Vidhya,

You really have done an amazing job of posting that snippet and this comes straight from my heart, some really small BUT positive things do really make a big difference to others!

This takes me back a couple of years when I was a Quality Analyst in an international call center where I used to give feedback after listening to calls taken by the associates. During my team feedback at the end of every shift, like always, I was pointing out a few good calls and happened to mention about this girl, Seema, who took a very good call appreciating the customer's patience and taking the customer through a very good experience. I happened to state that if she continues taking such calls, she will one day reach the stars and be shining! Well, this was one of my impromptu motivational statements and was only meant to bring hope and confidence to yet 'another' associate.

After about a year, we had our regular Shining Stars Award ceremony and Seema was awarded with the "Reach for the stars" award as a budding star in performance. That night when I was waiting for my driver to drop me home, she came up to me and reminded me of the day when I had appreciated her and used the same words for which she received the award today. She also said that the very day I had appreciated her a year back was infact her first day on calls and my appreciation had made her confident of being great on calls! I did not remember such an incident at all, because I had used motivating positive words for all my associates.

Little had I known that my little words would make such a difference to people I had coached and appreciated as part of my job responsibility

It's very important we be positive at all times, yes i mean "at all times", because if there's anything dark or gloomy in our lives, it sure is an indication of something bright in store

-Everlastingly-
Shal

sapthu02 · Jun 19, 2018

SO true !!

GeetaKashyap · Jun 19, 2018

I have read this story elsewhere too. It is such a beautiful story that shows what every human being craves for: recognition and appreciation. It can create wonders.

Thanks, @sapthu02, for bumping this thread.