Pampered Attitude

We all like to feel pampered… it makes us feel special and wanted. Pampering feeds our human need of appreciation. If we do not feel appreciated by those we are in contact with, we are likely to resent them. Resentment is a disease that will destroy any relationship over the long term with very little chance of rebuilding. Fostering a sense of resentment by failing to appreciate is tantamount to breaking the trust in one another. You cannot trust when a sense of resentment has infiltrated your interactions.

Personally, a sense of appreciation from those I interact with is priceless. I freely give away time and effort if there is a sense of appreciation from those involved. However, if I feel like I am being taken for granted or even artificially used, resentment supersedes any positive emotion I may derive from my time and efforts. I am willing to bet that most of us out there act and respond in similar fashion.

There is a big difference between being appreciated and expecting to be pampered. Appreciation can be as simple as a smile, a handshake, or even a spoken and meaningful thank you. Pampering is an extreme form of appreciation in the fact that every need or whim is satisfied at its beck and call. Pampering is reserved for special treats or moments in life, not an everyday or every minute occurrence.

Some people expect appreciation to be in the form of pampering. I recently ran across an article involving a sports figure which drudged up imagery of a pampered life. Lance Armstrong, one of the greatest cyclists ever, is attempting to come back after retiring a few years ago. He won seven straight Tour De France championships among his vast athletic accomplishments. On a personal level, he has overcome cancer and continued to excel at his sport. He is an amazing athlete and has done many things to promote cancer awareness among his work with charities and health organizations.

Even though he has done all of these great “human” things, I can’t help but think about how pampered he must be, given the following sentiments regarding his attempt to return to professional cycling. “Lance Armstrong could still race in the 2009 Tour de France, as long as race organizers make him feel welcome… For the moment, we are going to determine his program based on where he is really welcome and invited … and we will see about the rest… So the main thing is that he is definitely not excluding riding in the Tour, but it would have to be in an atmosphere that is serene and respectful.”

I understand his point of view, he doesn’t want to go where he’s not wanted or appreciated, neither would I. But Lance himself has said that his goal is to “draw more attention to his global campaign to fight cancer.” Appreciation on a personal level is a priority, but not the highest priority if your goal is publicly stated as helping other people. Helping other people involves sacrifices and in this case, appreciation is likely to be his sacrifice.

Why is the Tour de France not welcoming Armstrong back with open arms and being supremely grateful for his return? Well, through the years, he has been tied to various blood doping and performance enhancing drug cases but has never been specifically charged or failed any tests. There is a mountain of coincidental evidence involving his name, team, and trainers through the years however. While there is no smoking gun, there is a deep sense of suspicion. On top of that, the team he has chosen to join and represent in his comeback has been cited and suspended for violations. He didn’t do himself any favors with that choice.

He is right in wanting to be appreciated, but the statements above leave me feeling like he wants to be pampered. He wants to be welcomed back with some sort of lavish return ceremony in an attempt to reclaim his crown as the world’s greatest professional cyclist. If your goals are to raise awareness about cancer and fight the impact it has on our lives, he should sacrifice a bit of his needs for appreciation for the overall good his celebrity brings back to the event. Lance Armstrong returns to the Tour de France in an attempt to regain his crown… all of this while he has battled and beaten cancer. Imagine the headlines and news attention that would be paid to him and his cause. Sacrifice… we all do it, even the superstars in our world.

Citation: http://www.espn.com/