My Mama taught me to express thanks as soon as I could speak. If someone gave me something; did something nice for me, or paid me a compliment, I was supposed to say, "thank you." As I grew older, I saw that when I expressed thanks for small kindnesses I was rewarded with smiles, and more kindness. And, when
Thanking someone is simple manners. But you'd be surprised how many people don't use this courtesy. It isn't a small thing, either. Being able to thank others is the first step towards gratitude. The first step towards creating a world where you are hopeful for what may be and grateful for what you have.
When you express thanks to others, it builds up a savings account of goodwill. When you go beyond thanks and express genuine gratitude for another's contribution in your life you become a leader.
I've said it many times before, we create the world around us. Each interaction with another human being is a scene and it can go a zillion different ways. Some scenes are completely predictable.
There was a VP where I worked a few years ago who was notorious for not saying "thank you". So notorious, in fact, that some of us had to make a joke out of it. (It was one of those if-you-can't-laugh-you-might-punch-a-VP situations.)
The communal doors in the office were clear glass, if one of us approached a door at the same time he did, even if our hands were full, he'd stop, and wait until the person on the other side of the door pulled out their badge, swiped it over the pad and opened the door. IF he spoke, he'd say something (he thought was) funny like, "About time," and then chuckle and pass through. Not a word of thanks.
One of my co-workers and I had a kind of shorthand. "Three," I'd say to my friend. That meant: 3 times today I held the door, or did something else, for that VP and three times he didn't say thank you.
It was shocking, when, one day, this man actually said, "Thank you," when I held the door for him. He even looked a little surprised when he said it.
Unfortunately, he never said it again. There was a glimmer of hope there. I saw, for a moment, what a kind, good man he could be. I wish he'd lived up to the promise.
There's a common improv game that I call "The Gift". In this game, all players stand in a circle and Player 1 hands Player 2 something, saying, "I got you
Imagine, if we did that in our own lives? Expressed thanks and gratitude for EVERYTHING we were given.
Yes, even the bad stuff. Even the weird stuff. Even the sad stuff.
Imagine the world YOU could create if you added even the tiniest bit of gratitude to your life, every day?
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