As a young boy, I wanted to own my own car as soon as possible. So, I had to make money! I got a job at a local restaurant by the time I was 14 and by age 15, I was waiting tables. I saved enough money to purchase my first car just 9 months later!
I will never forget an experience I had at that restaurant. Anyone who has worked in a restaurant knows there is often conflict between the servers and the cooks. Well, the conflict reached a crisis point in our restaurant and the manager called a meeting to address it.
After a heated complaint session where each heaped insult and blame on the other, the group rallied around a suggestion to end the conflict. The suggestion seemed ridiculous at the time, and I don’t believe anyone thought it would work. Most probably agreed to it just to end the dreaded meeting.
The suggestion was simple: Say “Thank You” when addressing a concern or issue with each other.
Well, we tried it and it literally changed the nature of our work! The complaining ended and the bitter criticism that dominated so much of our work-day almost disappeared. It was incredible how simply saying those two words made the difference.
Then, the test came. It was a crazy-busy, breakfast rush. Everyone was running back and forth and the pressure to respond was high! A waitress came rushing into the kitchen, threw a plate of food into the window and served a heaping- helping of curse words at the cook, my friend, Randy.
Randy’s face turned red and this normally meant that we could expect an extra serving of yelling and colorful cuss words. However, Randy took a breath, gulped heavily, and responded with a firm “Thank you!”
Everyone around the area exhaled and relief came over all of us. The waitress apologized and feelings of tension evaporated almost instantly. What seemed to be an almost ridiculous idea to solve contention and dissension worked almost magically. It worked even better after this event. We had discovered the power of gratitude.
I have marveled so often, since that day so many years ago, on the lasting and impactful power of gratitude. Simply thinking to thank can change people’s lives. If it worked for a bunch of kids in a restaurant, what could it do for all of us?
Mr. Robert Emmons, the guru of gratitude, has dedicated the past decade of his life to studying the positive effects of gratitude. His research has found some significant reasons for all of us to discover the power of thank you! Wouldn’t all of us like a little bit more of these things?
- Increased physical and emotional energy
- A greater sense of personal well-being
- Improved self-image
- A more optimistic attitude about life
- A greater feeling of happiness
- A greater desire to take care of yourself and exercise
- A greater ability to forgive others for wrongs against us
- Less stress, anxiety, and depression
- Increased spirituality
- A greater feeling of connection and love for others
- Fewer headaches
- A stronger heart with a lower blood pressure
So, how do we go about doing this gratitude thing? If it produces these kinds of results and more, don’t we all want to do this more than just once a year in November? What if Thanksgiving became a part of not just our holiday, but a part of our everyday lives?
I am on a personal mission to help as many people adopt the attitude of gratitude and discover the power of thank you! I share messages of being grateful wherever I go and on all my social media sites. My message is simple and sweet:
Think to thank!
Here are my three favorite ways to be more grateful and think to thank:
Keep a gratitude journal. I begin every day by writing in a journal all the things for which I have to be grateful. I write them out to keep them, review them, and hopefully share them with others. I love the feeling of recording my grateful feelings every day at the start of the day!
I once heard someone say that we all have an incredible capacity for ingratitude. Let’s face it! Most of us have so much to be grateful for each day! It is so easy to take for granted our abundance, our prosperity, and our well-being. It is just too easy to be ungrateful.
The deliberate daily practice of thinking about how blessed and fortunate I am starts each day with the most positive of feelings. This may be the most oft-suggested method for helping people increase grateful feelings.
You will think to thank more as you start (or end) each day with a list of your blessings and all you have for which to be thankful.
Write a thank you note. I will be forever grateful that my mother taught me to write a thank you note when someone did something kind for me. There is something almost magical about pulling out the little card and writing your thanks!
When you take the time to write out words of appreciation, you feel the joy of receiving and being loved, helped, and cared for by another person. Positive emotions are invoked and feelings of love and connection increase! Even more, we are reminded that we are all a part of something much larger than our little selfies.
You will think to thank more as you look for opportunities to send a little note of sincere appreciation to others! Act now and see the dividends it yields. Others will feel valued and you will grow in feelings of worth and satisfaction. Get those pens out and send a note of thanks today!
Practice saying “Thank you” to everyone.
For several years, I worked as a manager, associating with some of the best people—especially the office managers and administrative assistants. I had the regular habit of returning and expressing a simple thank you to each of them when they did something for me. It was nothing huge. A thank you note, an e-mail reply that just said the words “Thank you,” or generous praise and words of appreciation when I saw them.
I worked with one fine woman for the final years before her retirement. One day she told me how much she valued my expressions of appreciation. When I tried to dismiss it as no big deal, she sadly told me I was often the only one who said any words of appreciation. It was only a year later when the administrative assistant who replaced her shared with me the same sentiment.
We can do better than this! I believe that every day of my life people are doing things for me to help me, or to serve me. This gives me a ton of opportunities every day to practice gratitude. I try to give every person who does any little thing for me a hearty “Thank you!”
I believe that anything someone does for me is worthy of a thank you! There is no act too small or too insignificant. I want to let everyone know that they are appreciated and valued. Selfishly, it makes me feel incredible too! There is incredible power in sincerely and generously expressing gratitude.
I am impressed that all the people I would call my heroes have this habit—they first express gratitude. I have noticed that all the men and women I admire most begin their public meetings, speaking engagements, and interactions with people, by expressing appreciation and thanks! I want to be like them.
So, if a bunch of kids in a restaurant could be changed by adding the practice of thinking to thank, what could happen in your life?
Please think to thank!
