9 ways to enrich your way of giving thanks

Are you looking to give a gift? There is one that is the best of all, that you can give to everyone and that will change your lives. In addition, it is a gift that improves when you give it looking into the eyes or when you accompany it with a smile. It is a gift that is free and costs the price you decide to put on it: give the thanks.

What is the best way to say thank you?

Are you a grateful person? Think again… You’ve probably realized that you can be a little more, and if you already are, you can certainly do better. How? Take care of these 6 principles:

1. Become aware

Start by being aware of what you are going to be grateful for and identify why it is necessary to give thanks. Connect with that small detail that they have given you or with that gesture that they have shown you. Become aware of how good he is for your life and how important it has been for the other person to have done what he did for you.

2. Enjoy the feeling of gratitude

Stop for a few seconds to feel your body. Become aware of this feeling of gratitude that runs through your gut and assimilate it. Let yourself go, allow yourself to be moved by the emotions it generates in you. Enjoy it! Give yourself the opportunity to rejoice in that moment in what is happening inside you as a result of that gratitude you are experiencing.

3. Express gratitude

Expressing is about showing genuine gratitude. When you say thank you you should put the previous two principles into practice and make it clear how valuable what that other person gave you or what they did for you was to you. Don’t forget to be kind.

4. Be specific

Don’t just say thank you, accompany it with the reason for gratitude. Instead of saying “thank you for your work,” it would be more effective to say something like “thank you for staying late” or “thank you for checking on it when you’re done.”

Being specific allows the other person to know what they did well and why they are being thanked for their action. This will make it more likely that she will repeat the act again, since it has been positively reinforced. Plus, when she receives that genuine gratitude, she feels valued and appreciated.

5. Be personal

When it is a group task, thank each person separately, because they have done you the favor individually. Doing it in a personalized way is essential for the other to recognize the value and importance they have had in the task.

6. Listen

Probably at that time, the person will also want to share with you some of the favor they have done for you. It is easy for him to want to tell you, for example, what has been easiest for him or what has been most difficult for him. Giving her the opportunity to be heard is making her feel that she matters, not so much because of what she has done, but because of what she is.

When you listen, do so actively. Active listening not only refers to the act of hearing what the other person says, but also to the perception of how they express it. It is being attentive and aware of the emotional and cognitive background (beliefs, thoughts) that underlies what has been mentioned.

7. If you can, make it public

It won’t be able to put on your resume that you took good care of your child one night, but it will validate the person who did you the favor as someone who is responsible and can be counted on. Making it public, if she agrees, will help her be recognized as a person who can be trusted to, for example, take care of a child at night.

8. Open the possibility of reciprocity

You have incurred a debt and, even if the other person is not going to collect it from you, it is good that you recognize it. “Returning the favor” is a gesture of gratitude that highlights that the other person’s act has not been in vain. Helping others, just as they helped you, is a way of continuing the bond of reciprocity that unites you. Relationships are maintained, to a certain extent, by the ability of people to give and receive mutually.

9. Use non-verbal language

When you can, do it in person, with eye contact and in a quiet moment. Make your body reflect the gratitude you are giving, let the joy be seen in your facial gestures and the openness in your body posture. Messages, emails or calls make gratitude poorer and less human.

Difference between giving thanks and being grateful

At this point it is important to emphasize that Giving thanks does not necessarily mean that you are grateful. Giving thanks is a social convention that can manifest itself as a spontaneous and automatic response.

There are many expressions of “thank you” that sound like hypocrisy., one of those that just by listening to them you discover that there is no intention of gratitude. These are precisely the ones we should avoid at all costs.

Showing gratitude transcends words. Being grateful consists, among other things, of showing others that we really value and appreciate what they have done for us, or what they have given us. And, in these cases, conventions do not help.

We don’t do much with the worn-out expression “thank you,” because its automatic use has robbed it of its meaning. We need to find new ways to show people the feeling of authentic gratitude..

To show others our gratitude, Small details are much more effective than words, and much more appropriate to convey our feelings.. That said, it is important to reflect: How can we make others feel that we are truly grateful? How can we show him that he occupies a small space in our hearts and in our thoughts?

Many of us rarely fail to say thank you, but very often we skip gratitude. Let’s look around us for those who have recently done something for us that has been important. AND Let’s find a creative way to show you that we are grateful. Let’s do it for them, but also for ourselves. Because thanking is often as rewarding as receiving.

Why be more grateful?

Being grateful will make you and those around you feel better. It is a small gesture that helps strengthen ties. TOSome of the benefits it can provide you are:

Makes you prosocial. Gratitude increases your efforts to help someone even if it is costly to you.Improve your romantic relationships. Gratitude in interactions predicts increases in relationship connectedness and produces satisfaction for both the recipient and the benefactor.It enhances sleep quality. Gratitude predicts greater quality and duration of your sleep.Benefit your relationships. Gratitude predicts one’s relational growth with the person expressing gratitude.Positively affects your mental health. Research has found that greater gratitude was linked to a lower risk of depression and anxiety.Gratitude can help satisfaction and happiness in your life. «When we feel gratitude, we benefit from the pleasant memory of a positive event in our life.” (Seligman, 2016).

So, it is clear that being grateful can help you be more emotionally balanced, happier, and more satisfied with your life. In addition to having positive effects and benefits for your social relationships, it also allows you to make a difference, open yourself up to something new and create a positive domino effect.

1. Make a difference

Get into the good habit of going slowly and, on the contrary, try to appreciate how The different people around you bring positive things to your life. This is the best way to create strong bonds. You will be able to acknowledge their support and then express your sincere gratitude.

Relationships are the most enriching way to achieve personal growth. People appreciate what they value, and this undoubtedly helps them open their hearts to you and other people.

2. Invent a ritual to open yourself to something new

Understand and be aware that being grateful will improve your life. By saying thank you, you acknowledge and show the person that you value what you have received from them. The person who receives this gesture thus understands that what he has done, no matter how small it may seem, has been important and positive.

Why does this happen like this? Because people use the messages that others send us about our actions to complete the evaluation we have made of them. So, A thank you is similar to saying: you did well!

With a simple gesture we have the possibility of strengthening the person’s self-esteem who has done us a favor. On the other hand, from a somewhat more egotistical point of view, by saying thank you we get the person to increase their willingness to do us this favor again in the future or to do us a different one.

For example, Take a few minutes on Friday to evaluate what happened during the week. What has worked for me this week and what hasn’t? What would be beneficial to carry out next week? This will help you self-evaluate what went well and what didn’t, in addition to helping you be happier and enter the following week stronger.

3. Create a positive domino effect and reward yourself

Talk to your family, friends and colleagues to let them know how important they are to you.. This will create a domino effect with which you will “spread” your positive attitude to third parties.

What plans do you think will be ideal to recharge and honor yourself and your loved ones? Do you believe that oneself can be self-sufficient to create one’s absolute happiness?

Now that we are aware of what such a simple gesture entails and the number of benefits it has, there is no reason not to thank the other person for what they have done for us. Remember that no matter how quick, easy or habitual it may seem, there is a person who wanted to please us without asking for anything in return. And that, without a doubt, is to be valued. Don’t let it be difficult for you to be grateful and lead by example by giving a universal present: saying thank you!

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