Our calendars tell us that Thanksgiving falls in late November here in the U.S.
At work, at home, or in your community, gestures of giving thanks are easy to do:
- Identify at least one specific thing that someone did for you or that contributed to a cause.
- Be clear about why what they did mattered to you, your relationship, or the organization. Determine two or three points about what they did and how they did it. Commit those points to memory.
- Communicate all this with that person. If you meet in person or virtually, maintain good eye contact and open body language. If on the phone, use your voice to express some positive energy of gratitude.
- Thank them for what they did and how they did it. Tell them how it impacted you. Perhaps, tell them also how it made you feel. Be open to making a new or deeper connection.
- As you close, thank them, with a handshake, fist bump, pat on the back, hug, if appropriate, or even follow up with a handwritten note; not an e-mail. Handwritten notes, once more common, take longer and show that you truly care.
When was the last time someone thanked you in such a way that made you realize that they truly meant it? Didn’t it feel good? Remember that you have the power to do that for others! And you will feel good thanking someone else.
"Sooner or later we all discover that the important moments in life are not the advertised ones, not the birthdays, the graduations, the weddings, not the great goals achieved.
The real milestones are less prepossessing. They come to the door of memory unannounced, stray dogs that amble in,
sniff around a bit and simply never leave.
Our lives are measured by these". - Susan B. Anthony