The Power of Gratitude

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We would all agree that life moves faster today than it did yesterday. We have more competing tasks on our to-do lists, and we continue to try to balance more and more. We interact with numerous people daily via text, email, phone and social media but how often are we remembering to thank them for their time, friendship, advice, and mentorship.

How often do we get gifts, invites to holiday parties, celebrations, unexpected bonuses, courtesy interviews, advice, and help from others?  Most of us receive something nice every day from someone but in the hustle of moving on to the next task, we forget to say thank you.  Worse yet, sometimes we expect these things vs appreciating them and many times, we mean to say thank you, but we forget.

How often do you hear the words “thank you” when you go out of your way for others? How does it make you feel when people show appreciation for both the little and big things? When you hold the door for a stranger, when you give patronage to a company, or when you do something you simply don’t have to do for someone else, how often today do you hear the words “thank you”? When you do hear them, how often are you likely to repeat your behavior?

I want to remind everyone of a simple law of reciprocity that states “If you do something nice for me, I’ll do something nice for you. I feel obligated to reciprocate.” Many of us feel as though our society has become a little less friendly. People aren’t as nice. You drive on the freeway and everyone is honking, giving disgruntled hands gestures, braking, or cutting people off. You go in stores; the clerks can barely say hello. You open the door for someone or bump into them and they huff away.

Remember what Mahatma Gandhi shared with us, “You must be the change you wish to see in the world” and start showing gratitude. One person at a time, remember to stop and take time to thank people for the small niceties they bestow on you. Thank them for their time, for being kind, polite, providing a perk, giving you lunch, for an interview, for a referral, for a raise, a promotion, a bonus, or a day off.   Don’t worry about getting that note in the mail, a simple text will do!

One person at a time, one “thank you” at a time, we can change the world and make it a better place!  Be kind and show gratitude today!