I’m a big fan of recognizing “implicit affirmations,” which come in many forms. Here are a few examples of them:
- being hello worthy
- being good company
- doing good
- being thought of
- being asked to lunch
- positively influencing another
- being around others
- greeting others
- people participating in your outings or events
After these 11 recent implicit affirmations that Bob and I recognized, read nine 50-word stories I wrote about implicit affirmations in general and have happened to me in the past.
Some recent implicit affirmations Bob have recognized and appreciated:
- Guy, our friend and neighbor, has a two-seat subscription to a movie theater series asked Bob to attend their Seven Samurai screening.
- Guy also has a two-seat subscription to the NC Opera, and he invited me to attend Madama Butterfly with him at the end of this month.
- When we told our friend Kevin that our holiday card to him had recently been returned, he said, “We should figure out how to cut out the middleman and you can hand-deliver it to me — want to get a cocktail someplace some night?” to which we invited him to stop by after work one day and have a (free) drink and some snacks at our house. And which he promptly did the next day.
- Jennifer & Ian, whom we recently met at a neighborhood gathering included us for a brunch in celebration of Jennifer’s birthday.
- Dyson & Samantha, whom we met at our neighborhood New Year’s Eve progressive cocktail party, invited us over for happy hour yesterday. Oh! And while we were there, Dyson chose to open a 48-year-old bottle of booze with us, which just happens to be our “house bourbon of choice” — Canadian Club.
- A few days ago, Claire, our friend and neighbor was walking by with her dog Fergus, and she texted asking us if we were home and might be available for a little chin-wag. She said Fergus saw our house, where he knows he’ll get a treat, and wanted to stop by. Consider us affirmed by both Claire and Fergus.
- Kim, our friend and neighbor — and published author who’s starting a blog — asked me if I’d be willing to fill out a questionnaire about readers to potentially post in her blog, and after sending her my responses, she said,”Thanks so much, John! I knew you’d go at this with gusto!”
- Jen, our friend and neighbor, texted us: “If you’re walking with us to the Capitol tomorrow to see the monks, we’re leaving our house at 2:30.”
- Beth, our friend and neighbor, knows I love bananas, and she recently gave me a bottle of banana simple syrup that she’d made specifically for me.
- Erin, our friend and neighbor, texted us amid the recent snow/ice storm: “Hi neighbor! Just wanted to check in during the storm and let you know we’re around if you need anything. Let’s hope the power stays on tonight. ☺️🤞”
- Allison & Peter, neighbors of ours who when walked by our house and saw a tarp we had thrown over our car, with trash bins leaning against it to keep it from blowing off, to preclude having to clear it from potential ice and snow, texted us: “Bob and John, Peter and I would like to know if your garbage cans attacked your car before or after happy hour last night?”
Thanks to all of you for affirming us!
Here are nine 50-word stories about how implicit affirmations have manifested themselves for me in the past:
| You’re hello worthy | You’re good company | You’ve done good |
| I recognized it as an implicit affirmation when someone walked by me without my seeing them but still said, “Hello, John.” It would’ve been easier for them to just slip by without a greeting, but they made the effort in spite of that, so I must be important to them. | I recognized it as an implicit affirmation when I asked a colleague if they wanted to take a walk to the nearby café for a cup of coffee and they said yes without an apparent thought of—or as much as a glance at—the cup already on their desk. | I recognized it as an implicit affirmation when a young colleague asked me if I’d be willing to have lunch with him one day to “pick my brain.” He wanted me to share with him as many things I could think of that have contributed to my apparent financial security. |
| Thinking of you | Let’s do lunch | Influenced by your writing |
| I recognized it as an implicit affirmation when a colleague messaged me: “John Martin! Was just peeling an orange with the Tupperware tool you gave me 400 years ago and thought about you.” It would have been easier not to message me, and I wouldn’t have had my day made. | I recognized it as an implicit affirmation when, a few months ago we’d left it at “Let’s get together as soon as it’s safe to,” and that friend followed up now that it is safe with an invitation to lunch. It would have been easier to just let it ride. | I recognized it as an implicit affirmation of having read my 50-word stories when a friend direct messaged me during the Q&A part of a virtual work meeting: “Are we on the same meeting? Thanks to you, I’m listening for how moderators tweak the Q&As. Hope you are doing well! |
| Proximity | Greeting | Participation |
| I recognized it as an implicit affirmation when, in the spreadsheet to reserve a workstation to use in the office now, a colleague chose one next to mine. Only 2 of our 11 floors in the building are being used, and the desks are spaced apart in a checkerboard pattern. | I recognized it as an implicit affirmation when a colleague working in a different area took time to come to my workstation to say hello. We’d both worked last week and had seen each other then, so it would have been natural to not make the extra effort this time. | I recognized it as an implicit affirmation when a colleague came to my desk last week for a short bourbon outfitters™ gathering at my workstation when he didn’t even want any bourbon. The easier response would have been to pass with a, “No thanks; I’m not going to drink today.” |
Do you recognize any recent implicit affirmations in your life?
