As a child, I groaned when my mother would sit me at the kitchen table with a note card and pen to write a thank you to grandparents or other relatives for a gift given for a special occasion like a birthday. When I would say in a very whiney voice that I already said, “thank you”, she would insist that a written expression was also necessary.
To quote Albert Schweitzer, “ To educate yourself for the feeling of gratitude means to take nothing for granted, but to always seek out and value the kindness that will stand behind the action. Nothing that is done for you is a matter of course. Everything originates in a will for the good, which is directed at you. Train yourself never to put off the word or action for the expression of gratitude.”
While we might have feelings of gratitude for various happenings, encounters, positive impacts, etc., the expression of appreciation is still necessary. Training ourselves to be consciously aware of our environment and the people around us promotes more positive connections and experiences. One way to increase our own happiness and that of others is to express gratitude.
Our busy world seems to be promoting a lack of gratitude awareness, and that distances us from each other. A texted TY just doesn’t do it in the same way as a spoken “thank you for your business.” A return to the basics taught to us by our parents can reconnect us with the very real moments in our lives, no matter how small, that deserve to be noticed with a grateful heart.
A recent experience recommitted me to express gratitude. Having spent many hours assisting a colleague with a project (at no charge, by the way), I learned on a Facebook post about a great result that took place directly as a result of the help I’d provided. I realized that the absence of acknowledgement was a painful experience. I used the incident to escalate my own resolve to express gratitude for kindnesses, favors and attention, and genuinely show my appreciation.
As you go about building your businesses through networking and marketing, build in a big dose of gratitude, expressed in ways that show you noticed.