Appreciation and Positive politics!

Okay! This is not something to do with principles of management. May be it is! I don't know. May be it's a little psychology, mere perception or a total myth. May be it's personal because it relates more to my behavior, rather my character. How well do we handle personal appreciation? A few gladly accepts them. A few cherishes them but pretends. A few underplay them. A few suspect and raise their eyebrows. A very few counter them diplomatically.

I am fine with all of it. I am not really worried about how people react to to good words. As long as they acknowledge it one way or the other I am glad. But there is a little curiosity in what people really feel when someone appreciates them. Most of the people around me including myself haven't got the maturity to handle appreciation. Rather we aren't sure how to react or respond.

I am very expressive. I argue a lot. I love talking. My vocabulary has got a lot in it that's not usual. I may sound a bit odd but I believe I am mostly sensible. I chide and appreciate wholeheartedly and I can do both to the same person at the same time. After all everyone has their share of good and bad and most importantly what I like in them and don't.

This becomes extremely challenging in the work atmosphere. People tend to perceive appreciation in a different manner. It's viewed as sheer politics when I appreciate someone's talent, the only reason being they are superiors to me. Assuming that it's quite normal for people from such a heirarchial culture and business ethics to view it that way, what's more surprising is that even colleagues of my cadre and my sub-ordinates tend to get suspicious when I appreciate them. The best part being, I gain nothing out of it.

I don't bother to prove that I am being genuine in my comments whenever I appreciate someone. Coz, people who understand can never complain and people who complain will never understand. But it irks and sometimes irritates when people fail to handle and acknowledge appreciation in the right way and pretend as if they didn't rejoice it. It just leaves me with three questions.

1) Aren't people sure about themselves and their traits?

2) Are people so dumb to differentiate a false appreciation from a genuine one? or Are they just being pretentious?

3) If 1 and 2 are true, do such people really deserve an appreciation? :-)

I don't know if I should really supress my desire to express my thoughts. What can help? Your thoughts? :-)