The Importance of Saying ‘Thank you’
This summer saying ‘thank you’ has been on my mind a lot ………….. thinking about people I need to thank and being annoyed with myself that haven’t done so yet…………..the joyous impact that a thank you from others has made on me, when I given a gift or helped them in some way…………..and the importance of remembering to be thankful for all the good things in my life…………..
It is all too easy to forget to say thank you (even when we are grateful) and unless we do, how can the other person know it ? When we don’t say it, what interpretation can they make ?
And saying ‘thank you’ is a recurring theme in the experience of successful people………………
……………Those of you who have been in courses with me will have heard and experienced the importance of saying ‘thank you’ when receiving feedback………whether you wanted to hear it or not, it is still a valuable gift.
……………When I started my business 12 years ago I listened to a really thought provoking talk on the importance of saying ‘ thank you’ in business…….to both strengthen relationships and keep that business flowing. Good advice at a busy time when it could have been missed !
……………My friend Jenny Mackness recently also sent me this:
‘Something my sister and I have begun doing which is having quite a profound effect on my way of thinking and being, is texting one another on a daily basis about 3 things that have gone well/made us happy that day. Which in turn has made me much more thankful about my day and appreciate being in that moment.
There are days when I think “have there been 3?” but if I stop and think for a moment, there always are.’
As I was preparing to write this piece sadly my mother died… and I think like most mums she emphasised the importance of saying ‘thank you’ to me from a young age. Like most children I needed to develop the maturity to see the real importance of this beyond simple good manners… and also it is only on looking back do I fully appreciate how saying ‘thank you’ and being thankful, was how she lived her life. She ‘walked the talk’… I am thankful for that !
I often talk on courses about the gulf between our intention towards others and our impact on them……………might remembering to say thank you, be one way that we can take action now, in order to close the gap ?
