The “ONE THING” for today – Practice the Triple A Treatment

Yesterday I shared with you my thoughts about being very intentional about the first sixty seconds of every encounter or transition in life; today I want to build on that a bit by sharing with you my long-held practice of giving people what I call the “Triple A Treatment”.

Today’s “ONE THING” is: When greeting people, in the first sixty seconds, give them a word of appreciation and/or affirmation and give them your full attention.  Did you catch that?  Appreciation, Affirmation and Attention.

Let me give you an example.  A few days ago I arrived a little early for a staff meeting and decided to set up my laptop and get in a little work time while waiting for the meeting to start.  I had a number of things that I needed to get done and every minute mattered.  However, much to my surprise one of the pastor’s was also there and out of habit I practiced my “Triple A” policy and in that first 60 seconds it became obvious that my colleague was troubled in his heart about a personal matter.  I sensed the Holy Spirit prompting my heart about why it had really worked out for me to be there a little earlier than usual – it wasn’t to get in a little extra work time; it was because He had some “real” work for me to do.  This would have probably not have happened if it had not been for my “Triple A Treatment” policy.

This illustrates the real motivation behind the Triple A Treatment policy.  It is not to manipulate people but it is based on the fact that what really matters in your life is people.  It is so easy to get caught up in your “To Do” list and projects that you forget what really matters and find yourself rushing through the crowd and never stopping to look, listen and learn, i.e. live.

Trust me, people soon pick up on whether or not you really care and act accordingly (this includes family).  Just think what a life time of practicing the Triple A treatment would do for a marriage or parenting relationship.  Just think what it would do for a career or a friendship – and here’s a novel idea – think what it would do for your relationship with God!  (I think that’s called “worship” :)).

With my full attention,

dlkemp