It was the end of my exhausting first day as a waitress in a busy New York restaurant. My cap had gone awry, my apron was stained, and my feet ached. The loaded trays I carried felt heavier with each trip. Weary and discouraged, I felt incapable of doing anything right. As I wrote up a complicated check for a family whose children had changed their ice-cream order numerous times, I was ready to quit.
Then the father smiled as he handed me my tip. "Well done," he said. "You've looked after us really well."
Suddenly, my tiredness vanished. I smiled back. Later, when the manager asked how I'd liked my first day, I replied, "Fine!" Those few words of praise had changed everything.