---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We should praise the qualities we would…"
description: "\"We should praise the qualities we would like to see in others, declare that others possess them already, and then watch how quickly these persons will ..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c70/catherine-ponder-14045_esteem_we-should-praise-the-qualities-we-would_2889693.png"
---

#  We should praise the qualities we would like to see in…

![“We should praise the qualities we would like to see in others, declare that others possess them already, and then watch how quickly these persons will respond.” quote by Catherine Ponder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c70/catherine-ponder-14045_esteem_we-should-praise-the-qualities-we-would_2889693.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c70/catherine-ponder-14045_esteem_we-should-praise-the-qualities-we-would_2889693.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c70/catherine-ponder-14045_esteem_we-should-praise-the-qualities-we-would_2889693.png)

> “We should praise the qualities we would like to see in others, declare that others possess them already, and then watch how quickly these persons will respond.”

[Catherine Ponder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-ponder/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Affirming desired traits in others encourages them to embody those traits quickly.

**In simple terms:** Praise what you want to see, and it appears.

Key Takeaway

Use positive reinforcement to inspire change.

Themes

encouragement psychology behavior change

Mood

motivational optimistic

Type

self‑help inspirational

When to use this quote

- teamwork
- parenting
- coaching
- personal growth

Key Concepts

positive psychology self‑fulfilling prophecy

Questions to Reflect On

- Which qualities will you affirm today?
- How can you make praise authentic?

A Different Perspective

People may resist if praise feels insincere.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Esteem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/esteem/) [Persons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/persons/) [Praise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/praise/) [Praise Qualities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/praise-qualities-4050817/) [Qualities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/qualities/) [Qualities Like](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/qualities-like-978771/) [Quality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quality/) [Self esteem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self-esteem/) [Should](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/should/) [Watch Quickly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/watch-quickly-4050818/) [Watches](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/watches/)

## Related quotes

> [The complete novelist would come into the world with a catalog of qualities like this. He would own the concentration of a Trappist monk,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-uris/the-complete-novelist-would-come-into-the-world-with-a-catalog-of/)

[Leon Uris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-uris/)

> [Qualities like being considerate, loyal, caring, protective and honest are what attract me in a man and I find such men desirable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shehnaaz-gill/qualities-like-being-considerate-loyal-caring-protective-and-honest/)

[Shehnaaz Gill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shehnaaz-gill/)

> [Praise is literal food for feminine qualities. If you want your woman to grow in her radiance health, happiness, love, beauty, power and depth,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-deida/praise-is-literal-food-for-feminine-qualities-if-you-want-your-woman/)

[David Deida](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-deida/)

> [When someone else accepts you, that’s when you begin to see yourself through their eyes. And you begin to realize that there may actually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natsuki-takaya/when-someone-else-accepts-you-that-s-when-you-begin-to-see-yourself/)

[Natsuki Takaya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natsuki-takaya/)

> [My Head of House said I lacked certain necessary qualities...like the ability to behave myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/my-head-of-house-said-i-lacked-certain-necessary-qualities-like-the/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [My everything is you. Your love for me is overwhelming. Yes, we met only a short time ago but now you're everything to me.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/my-everything-is-you-your-love-for-me-is-overwhelming-yes-we-met-only/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Limitless like the ocean are your excellent qualities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/limitless-like-the-ocean-are-your-excellent-qualities/)

[Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/)

> [Five qualities there are wine's praise advancing; Strong, beautiful, fragrant, cool and dancing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-harington/five-qualities-there-are-wine-s-praise-advancing-strong-beautiful/)

[John Harington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-harington/)

> [How I feel about and behave toward myself is the basic determinant of most of my behavior. If I improve my self-regard, I will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-schutz/how-i-feel-about-and-behave-toward-myself-is-the-basic-determinant-of/)

[William Schutz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-schutz/)

> [What you praise you increase.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-ponder/what-you-praise-you-increase/)

[Catherine Ponder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-ponder/)

> [Sometimes we praise the way things used to be in order to blame the present, and we esteem what is no longer in order…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-de-souvre-marquise-de-sable/sometimes-we-praise-the-way-things-used-to-be-in-order-to-blame-the/)

[Madeleine de Souvre, marquise de Sable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-de-souvre-marquise-de-sable/)

> [Growing up, my dad drank a lot of wine, so I got a taste for, and learned how to enjoy it. He spoke a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-araya/growing-up-my-dad-drank-a-lot-of-wine-so-i-got-a-taste-for-and/)

[Tom Araya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-araya/)

> [Anna Petrovna: Never talk to women about your own good qualities. Let them find out for themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-chekhov/anna-petrovna-never-talk-to-women-about-your-own-good-qualities-let/)

[Anton Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-chekhov/)

> [I believe in a world where there are no heroes, and I've read and know humanity a lot. There are moments that I admire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orhan-pamuk/i-believe-in-a-world-where-there-are-no-heroes-and-i-ve-read-and-know/)

[Orhan Pamuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orhan-pamuk/)

> [We can find common qualities and common values that have made Britain the country it is. Our belief in tolerance and liberty which shines…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-brown/we-can-find-common-qualities-and-common-values-that-have-made-britain/)

[Gordon Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-brown/)

## More by Catherine Ponder

> [It is easy to speak words of love, or to meditate lovingly upon those people with whom you are in harmony. But it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-ponder/it-is-easy-to-speak-words-of-love-or-to-meditate-lovingly-upon-those/)

[Catherine Ponder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-ponder/)

> [Giving is only one-half of the law of increase. Receiving is the other half. We can give and give but we may unbalance the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-ponder/giving-is-only-one-half-of-the-law-of-increase-receiving-is-the-other/)

[Catherine Ponder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-ponder/)

> [The shocking truth about prosperity is that it is shockingly right instead of shockingly wrong for you to be prosperous. Please note that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-ponder/the-shocking-truth-about-prosperity-is-that-it-is-shockingly-right/)

[Catherine Ponder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-ponder/)

> [What you praise you increase.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-ponder/what-you-praise-you-increase/)

[Catherine Ponder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-ponder/)

> [Your ships come in only after you have sent them out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-ponder/your-ships-come-in-only-after-you-have-sent-them-out/)

[Catherine Ponder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-ponder/)

> [Poverty is a form of hell caused by man's blindness to God's unlimited good for him. You should be prosperous, well supplied and have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-ponder/poverty-is-a-form-of-hell-caused-by-man-s-blindness-to-god-s/)

[Catherine Ponder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-ponder/)

> [The forgiving state of mind is a magnetic power for attracting good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-ponder/the-forgiving-state-of-mind-is-a-magnetic-power-for-attracting-good/)

[Catherine Ponder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-ponder/)

> [It is through the imagination that the formless takes form.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-ponder/it-is-through-the-imagination-that-the-formless-takes-form/)

[Catherine Ponder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-ponder/)

> [Realise that your dreams of financial independence have already come true on the mental plane, by the time you desire them or become aware…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-ponder/realise-that-your-dreams-of-financial-independence-have-already-come/)

[Catherine Ponder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-ponder/)

> [When people bother you in any way, it is because their souls are trying to get your divine attention and your blessing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-ponder/when-people-bother-you-in-any-way-it-is-because-their-souls-are/)

[Catherine Ponder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-ponder/)

> [It has been said that work is the highest form of play.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-ponder/it-has-been-said-that-work-is-the-highest-form-of-play/)

[Catherine Ponder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-ponder/)

> [When you realize that prosperity is your divine heritage, you should persist in claiming it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-ponder/when-you-realize-that-prosperity-is-your-divine-heritage-you-should/)

[Catherine Ponder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-ponder/)

> [The desire to be self-supporting and financially independent is a divine desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-ponder/the-desire-to-be-self-supporting-and-financially-independent-is-a/)

[Catherine Ponder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-ponder/)

> [Whatever your problem, it is but a test in love. If you meet that test through love, your problem will be solved. If you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-ponder/whatever-your-problem-it-is-but-a-test-in-love-if-you-meet-that-test/)

[Catherine Ponder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-ponder/)

> [Let there be peace within my walls and prosperity within my palaces.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-ponder/let-there-be-peace-within-my-walls-and-prosperity-within-my-palaces/)

[Catherine Ponder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-ponder/)

[Explore all 48 Catherine Ponder quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-ponder/)

## More Esteem quotes

> [Her dignity consists in being unknown to the world; her glory is in the esteem of her husband; her pleasures in the happiness of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jacques-rousseau/her-dignity-consists-in-being-unknown-to-the-world-her-glory-is-in/)

[Jean-Jacques Rousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-jacques-rousseau/)

> [Nothing is better for self-esteem than survival.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-gellhorn/nothing-is-better-for-self-esteem-than-survival/)

[Martha Gellhorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-gellhorn/)

> [Needs cause motivation. Deep-rooted desires for esteem, affection, belonging, achievement, self-actualization, power, and control motivate us to push for what we want and need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorii-myers/needs-cause-motivation-deep-rooted-desires-for-esteem-affection/)

[Lorii Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorii-myers/)

> [So I went to a club the other day, which is timely because my self esteem had been hovering right around 'normal' and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-birbiglia/so-i-went-to-a-club-the-other-day-which-is-timely-because-my-self/)

[Mike Birbiglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-birbiglia/)

> [You would not exist if you did not have something to bring to the table of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbie-hancock/you-would-not-exist-if-you-did-not-have-something-to-bring-to-the/)

[Herbie Hancock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbie-hancock/)

> [To preserve an unclouded capacity for the enjoyment of life is an unusual moral and psychological achievement. Contrary to popular belief, it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-branden/to-preserve-an-unclouded-capacity-for-the-enjoyment-of-life-is-an/)

[Nathaniel Branden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-branden/)

> [If you go to any nunnery and ask them what the main obstacle is, they'll always say low self-esteem and lack of confidence. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tenzin-palmo/if-you-go-to-any-nunnery-and-ask-them-what-the-main-obstacle-is-they/)

[Tenzin Palmo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tenzin-palmo/)

> [Don't worry so much about your self-esteem. Worry more about your character. Integrity is its own reward.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-schlessinger/don-t-worry-so-much-about-your-self-esteem-worry-more-about-your/)

[Laura Schlessinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-schlessinger/)

> [Spina bifida affects every single aspect of your life, from your child's self-esteem to your ability to sleep at night.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-ari-parker/spina-bifida-affects-every-single-aspect-of-your-life-from-your-child/)

[Nicole Ari Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-ari-parker/)

> [You never exist quite so much as when you are not thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/you-never-exist-quite-so-much-as-when-you-are-not-thinking/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

> [Never let the opinion of another affect your opinion of yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teresa-mummert/never-let-the-opinion-of-another-affect-your-opinion-of-yourself/)

[Teresa Mummert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teresa-mummert/)

> [You'd be surprised how addicting high self-esteem is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fergie/you-d-be-surprised-how-addicting-high-self-esteem-is/)

[Fergie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fergie/)

> [The only thing I pay attention to with free throws is what a guy does in the final four minutes of a game. If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-calipari/the-only-thing-i-pay-attention-to-with-free-throws-is-what-a-guy-does/)

[John Calipari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-calipari/)

> [When one is a stranger to oneself then one is estranged from others too. If one is out of touch with oneself, then one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-morrow-lindbergh/when-one-is-a-stranger-to-oneself-then-one-is-estranged-from-others/)

[Anne Morrow Lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-morrow-lindbergh/)

> [The Tao is the center of the universe, the good man's treasure, the bad man's refuge. Honors can be bought with fine words, respect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/the-tao-is-the-center-of-the-universe-the-good-man-s-treasure-the-bad/)

[Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/)

[Browse all 1,681 Esteem quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/esteem/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "We should praise the qualities we would like to see in others, declare that others possess them already, and then watch how quickly these persons will respond.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Catherine Ponder"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-ponder/we-should-praise-the-qualities-we-would-like-to-see-in-others-declare/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Esteem"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-ponder/we-should-praise-the-qualities-we-would-like-to-see-in-others-declare/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c70/catherine-ponder-14045_esteem_we-should-praise-the-qualities-we-would_2889693.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c70/catherine-ponder-14045_esteem_we-should-praise-the-qualities-we-would_2889693.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c70/catherine-ponder-14045_esteem_we-should-praise-the-qualities-we-would_2889693.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“We should praise the qualities we would like to see in others, declare that others possess them already, and…” — Catherine Ponder",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Catherine Ponder",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-ponder/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "We should praise the qualities we...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-ponder/we-should-praise-the-qualities-we-would-like-to-see-in-others-declare/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-ponder/we-should-praise-the-qualities-we-would-like-to-see-in-others-declare/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
