Really Rosy

I once took a one-day course on nonprofit management. There’s not much you can learn in such a short time, but I took home one salient lesson: people are motivated by different rewards. This rang true, and just as important, it showed me why I had felt so meh about holiday gift cards and birthday cookies. I am motivated by knowing that my work has made people happy.

So when a middle schooler with whom I’ve been working for a few years showed up to our FaceTime meeting with this sign, I could not stop smiling. I also loved it when a copyediting client recently wrote, “There would have been literally zero chance of accomplishing this without you.”

Saying thank you costs nothing. Moreover, for people like me, it can be more gratifying than the largest bouquet of roses.