Newsvine This
Thank you! Grazie! ¡Gracias! Merci! Danke schön!
Words that express gratitude or appreciation. There are places where you hear it more, some where it's not as common, and others where expletives seem to be the rule of the day.
Well, here are 5 simple ways of how you can practice gratitude and at the same time, encourage others to do so too.
1. Say it.
Just say, Thank you, and mean it. Sounds so simple, right? And yet we often forget to do this because we take for granted that the person giving us some form of service is paid to do it anyway. We can find ourselves acting this way with sales clerks in a store, a cashier, waiters and waitresses, housekeepers in a hotel or maybe even in our own homes--in short, people employed in the service industry.
At other times, we just don't have the time. We rush from one thing to another, run from here to there, and the split second it takes to say, Thank you, seems too long a time to spare. Why not put the brakes and try it?
2. Smile.
Be it a shy, tentative smile or an open and wide grin, a smile is often a little gesture that goes a long, long way. It's a big push to someone who may be getting tired of helping other people because they seem to be unappreciative of kindness. Or for someone who's just starting to go out of her way to extend some small service here and there, it can just be the big confirmation that what she's doing is worth it. So smile your thanks, and oh, make sure it's warm!
3. Text it.
Nothing beats an originally-worded text from you to a friend. But, you know, even that one word Thanks that you send someone who's done you a favor can be as worthy as a strong handshake or an affectionate tap on the back. By the way, you don't know the burst of sunshine that the often misused exclamation point can shower on your text recipient. This is where it really fits: Thank you!
4. Email it.
Have you received a cheery email with those inspiring words or smiling faces? You choose what's not corny for you and send it to family and friends--even when they haven't really done you any particular help recently. We don't just reserve our thanks for good deeds done to us now, do we? So, go on, forward it!
Extra tip: You'll want to make it more personal by adding a word or two of your own and emailing it also to just one or two at a time. Don't exaggerate: you don't have to forward your cheery emails to ALL of them ALL the time.
Otherwise the "mass-produced" effect produced by sending it to everyone on your directory beats the purpose. Besides there are very few people who don't mind seeing their name in the addressee together with a trillion others.
5. "An eye for an eye"
Have you heard of that? Well, this is the time to do it. What's the best way to say thanks? Repay it with a similar action. A good deed for a good deed. Kindness for kindness.
You choose: do it for the one who helped you or do it to another who needs your help. More and more people are choosing something even better: they don't wait. They start the "cycle". They help anyone who needs it for as long as it's in their power to do so. We're talking of real help here, a good, positive act that results into the improvement or development of a person. So, what are you waiting for? Do it!
