This was an end-of-year piece written on December 30 that got tabled because it was submitted to run in another pub. But they decided not to run it, so here it is. 

One of the things I've learned this year is that at least some people feel that acknowledgement from me is worth something. This is a very foreign concept.  

Inside my own mind, I am the person seeking acknowledgment.  

At some point, somehow I got the idea that the opposite might also be true. So I tried some experiments. Random compliments on Twitter to people who I look up to, who I was looking to for approval. Just to see what would happen. 

Hey, they liked it! Amazing. Who would have thought. (But I should have figured this out long ago.) 

You might try it too to see if it works. I bet it does. 

Almost everyone likes recognition. Hey you did a good job there! Keep it up. It's easy to type and say, and the results will warm your heart.  

I once wrote a piece where I said we're all barking farting chihuahua's and our opinions don't matter one bit. It's still true, but it's also true that somewhere, someone will appreciate a kind word, even if you don't believe it. Might be worth a try.  

I also wrote a piece once where I suggested that instead of greeting people with Hi How Are You? we said Hello I Forgive You.  

Similar idea. Only it's likely to get you a punch in the nose.