Validation

Homemakers have the ability to make a steady and lasting impact on their family by the work they do in their home. The impact this work makes on the family has an echo in society. However, not many know about it. 

If you are given recognition, people show admiration and respect for your achievements. Validation has a positive effect on people. When employees and their work are valued, their satisfaction and productivity rises and they are motivated to maintain or improve their good work. 

As we see in this touching story we always appreciate when others recognize what we do or what we have achieved. When we receive recognition, it has a magical effect on our self-esteem and we feel rewarded for all our efforts. We especially value when people appreciate who we are. It makes us smile. 

We often mistake the value of the work itself with the recognition we receive. In many countries society is not yet ready to validate homework as a profession and work at home is not valued in monetary terms. Many homemakers do not receive any recognition for the work they do. However, that is not the ultimate word because it does not change the reality itself. Are you going to quit what you do only because no one is validating it? 

We do not need spectators to applaud us or give us “likes” on social media to know the value of what we do. If you focus your attention only on what others think of you, you may lose out on who you really are. Working with professionalism and integrity even when no one is watching, is the guarantee that the work you do is worthy. This is a real challenge. If we are able to find our personal meaning without the applause of the world, we are then free. As homemakers we develop a sense of purpose which is much deeper than the validation society could give us. Our reason to do things is not based on the recognition we will receive, but on the love we have for those people. The more we do our work just for love, the happier we are. 

With this I am not saying that we do not need recognition. As with everybody else we really appreciate it, and sometimes, especially when we get tired, we need it. I like to say that homemakers are artists. Discovering joy and beauty in thousands of ordinary minutes and routines is an art. It is precisely the silent joy of normal days what validates our work more than anything. Working for others, to make their lives easier and to take care of them, makes us happy. Our validation is seeing that our family grows happily, that things continue to flow. Our validation is the joy to see that we keep the family “on track” to accomplish a good life. Like in the video, we just want to see people smile.