Giving Thanks is More Than Saying “Thank you”

I recently did a little experiment and counted how many times in one day I said “thank you” to someone. Let’s just say, I lost count because it was a lot. I thanked my husband for making me tea, the person who held the door open for me, the person who let me go ahead of them into the elevator, the person who complimented my outfit, my boss who gave me some positive feedback, my daughter who called me out of the blue, my other daughter who accepted no as an answer to her request for a drive late at night.

You get the point, there were a whole lot of opportunities to say, “thank you”. So what? That day wasn’t any different from the one before or the one after. Saying “thank you” is as much of my daily vernacular as saying “Hi”. Pleasantries. Niceties. Expected.

 

“Acknowledging the good that you already have in your life is the foundation for all abundance.”

– Eckhart Tolle

 

Giving thanks as a leader – or a person in general – goes beyond this. It demands thoughtful reflection about what I have. Perhaps it is my loving family, the warmth of my home filled with  rescue pets, the team I can depend on, and the boss who supports me.

There are an unlimited number of things to be thankful for, identifying them is the first step. Then there is the opportunity to go a step further and consider how I got what I am thankful for. What happened along the way? There will be specific themes that appear in the way people show-up and the way they act that one can be thankful for. The key is to get specific. I also like to consider how a person, event or thing has made me feel because that is the lasting factor that conjures the memory of what took place. So as not to waste these steps by only sharing them with myself, the last part is to share. The best shares are specific and include more than just the facts, but also the feelings that were generated. Personally, I think this is what makes the difference when we pause to give thanks.

Life is bountiful. We did not get to where we are without the contributions, support, and encouragement of others. This week, I encourage you to create space for reflection and giving thanks. 

 

– Melissa Law