Five Top Ways to Show Gratitude - By: Rachael Stone

Though gratitude is nice to demonstrate all year long, around Thanksgiving we become more aware of it. Thanksgiving is a time to show people that what they do for us and what they are is appreciated. Hence, we want to focus on how to express this gratitude in a way that the other person will recognize it and know that what they did was helpful to us. How do you do express gratitude? Here are many easy ways to say "thank you".

1) Be Polite

Learn to say please and thank you to all and sundry. Be it your teacher in class or your friend when asking for a favor or even that irritating neighbor. This is important because you never know when your toddler or a person who looks up to you might be listening in and copying your style.

2) Give a Small Card or Gift.

You were a down on your luck student whose teacher thought deserved another chance and gave it to you. The teacher took precious personal time out to coach you on the subject that you have been performing poorly. Perhaps they enabled you to achieve a high honor. You would like to show your gratitude but are not sure what would be the best way to do it. There is a very simple way of excelling at it. Just say thank you with a card that says it all or give a memorabilia.

To be the kind of person who attracts the right kind of associations from school to work to home, you need to also learn people. Take time to understand the people you interact with. If you want a gift to be truly appreciated, think about what the person would appreciate first. It is best when you get the item that is needed most but for some reason the person cannot get hold of it. Another option is to give a gift that will have a sentimental value. This is why understanding someone and taking time to really know them personally will help.

3) Lend a Helping Hand.

Sometimes the only gratitude you can show someone is lending a hand in something the person is involved in. This will speak volumes to them as you assist in their cause. In this way, you are letting on that you care about them and are sensitive to their likes and dislikes without buying them something you are not sure of.

There are also the unpleasant tasks that people put off. If you help someone by assisting them do the tasks that they like putting off because they are not equal to the task or need to hire someone else to do, you will win plenty of brownie points in this way. For instance helping someone else do their tax returns when they have been putting it off is a great way to show a friend that you care. Helping an elderly teacher that taught you in grade school shows that you appreciate what they taught you.

4) Express Praise.

Apart from lending a hand, you can also praise a friend by affirming them and encourage them when they are fretful. These are ways of showing gratitude for the friendship without spending any money and who said that all actions of gratitude translate to financial expenditure? One often appreciates acts of gratitude than other expressions such as verbal or monetary. These acts are often considered priceless. The value is not quantifiable at all.

5) Spending Time and Listening

For the elderly, be it a friend or a former teacher, the best gift is spending time with them through engaging them in constant conversation or hearing from them in a way that says they are always on your mind. This is powerful also for the person who does not have many friends or does not have time to socialize but can be caught on phone or at home with some little time to spare. If your parents are still living, spend time with them as well.

A story is told of a child who was there for a neighbor who had lost his parent. The little boy went to the neighbor, crawled onto their lap, and sat there. When asked by the parents what he had done to help the neighbor because he was thanking the child, he responded, "I just helped him cry." This might sound like a joke but there are times when the best way to draw closer to our friends, loved ones and the community is by showing up and being there when they need us.

As a conduit to valuable things in life, an attitude of gratitude is the way to open doors to a stress free life. There will be reduced visits to your doctor as you will be maximizing on your precious time to bring joy to others and in return reward yourself with a sense of satisfaction.

Though many people think of gratitude during Thanksgiving, it is a nice way of life if you can manage it. It enriches all relationships great and small.

About the Author

One way of letting one know you care is with friendship jewelry. This can be a simple way of saying thanks.

Article Directory Source: http://www.articlerich.com/profile/Rachael-Stone/53699

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