Have you ever wondered why we say so much when saying less says so much more?
Yesterday I was invited to a personal development seminar by a friend which I found very useful.
Upon returning home I sent her a simple email with the subject header “Two words”.
In the body of the email I then included two words which we all like to hear again and again.
And what were those two words? Yes, you have guessed it.
Thank You.
We all crave for appreciation, acknowledgment, a sense that we count and a feeling of belonging.
The best way of giving that to others is to thank them – and to say it like you really mean it.
You can even just thank them for being who they are. Or maybe even for who they are not?
So often, when someone pays us a compliment, we wave it away and say that it’s nothing. Or we get all coy and comment how we are not worthy of having such nice things said about us.
That actually disempowers the other person. Whereas all that you need to do in such a situation is simply to gracefully accept all kind words and just say thank you.
So let’s keep it simple today. First go and master the art of saying thank you.
And then from today onwards, let’s create a crescendo of those two most important words going around the world.
Thank you.
Please do share your own thoughts below.
PS What are you most thankful for today?
Image courtesy of cplbasilisk
Hi Arvind,
When I read the title, before scrolling down, I was guessing you would choose either “Thank you” or “You’re hot!” (ok, that one is technically 3 words) 🙂
Anyway, good choice. Appreciation is definitely more valuable to most people than cheesy compliments about physical appearance. Most people are starving for an authentic ‘Thank you’.
Thanks for this article 😉
Eduard, funny you say that – I am often told that I am hot, but now I have learnt to just say thank you:-)
Thank you for another beneficial article. Today I’m thankful for being blessed with the most wonderful, patient, and loving man and my wonderful children. I’m thankful for my friends who are always supportive and encouraging me to continue growing intellectually, emotionally, spiritually and professionally, as well as the opportunity to cross paths with fantabulous bloggers, such as yourself and folks on FB.
Mrs Metwally, welcome to my blog – and thank you for all your kind words.
Your family and friends sound just as wonderful as you. Clearly like attracts like:-)
Thank you. Two powerful words, indeed. I try to use them often, even just in ordinary life situations like shopping, or eating in restaurants, and yes, when I get a compliment about my cooking, or my clothes or whatever 😉 Hey, I’ll take any praise I can get!
And what am I thankful for? It’s a very long list!
Thanks for sharing, Miss Footloose.
Now let’s make it happen so that everyone else too has a very long list of things to be thankful for.
Hey Arvind!
How are you doing? Great blog you have here!!
This post is so powerful. It’s like we are always trying to change other people, or criticizing what we don’t like about them, instead of thanking them for the things they do right and the difference they are making.
The easiest way to learn to appreciate people is by setting the goal for yourself to give one genuine compliment to someone every single day.
Keep rocking!
Cheers
Diggy
Welcome to my blog, Dirk (Diggy)!
(I just found your comment in my spam folder).
You hit the nail on the head – we are forever criticising others and ignoring all the food that they do. Once we recognise all the goodness in other people and show our thankfulness, magic happens!
Yes, great idea to give at least one person a genuine compliment each day. I shall be doing so from now onwards:-)
By the way, I love what you are doing! Not many 17 year olds would have left school to spend 2 years running a supermarket for 12 hours a day, 7 days a week, just so they can learn about business.
Hi Arvind! To live in gratitude for everything that happens in our lives is a wonderful place to be. I’m thankful for all the little blessings I see all around me. I can’t help but be amazed by the beautiful world we live in. I try to be thankful all the day for the wonderful gifts the universe shower us every step of the way.
Thanks for this beautiful reminder! Loving blessings!
Andrea, thank you!
We have so many little blessings around us to be thankful about – just have to literally open our eyes:-)
Loving blessings to you too.
Hi Arvind,
What a beautiful gesture..and I love how innovative you got with the “two words” in the subject line…I’m gonna borrow that idea from you 🙂 hope you don’t mind..
And believe me…Gratitude is like the golden rule by which true clarity and compassion emerge. Be it for others or for yourself. Saying thank you is just such a wonderful act..
I love how whenever I say thank you to the cashier at the supermarket(with a smile)…they almost always don’t know how to react …but they still instantly get a smile on their beautiful faces.
Thank you fro sharing this today Arvind.
Much love,
Z~
Thank you Zeenat!
I can just imagine you going through life full of gratitude and generously sharing your smile and “thank you’s”. Lucky supermarket cashiers!
And of course you can “borrow” the idea:-)
PS And belated best wishes again for your birthday:-)
Hi Arvind. I had shivers running up my back reading this, and for me thats a sign from spirit to pay attention. I had this feeling looking at your photo. Thank you, love and peace global neighbour.
Thank you Simon for your kind words – and welcome to my blog, neighbour from down under:-)
You do some amazing healing work for the world, Simon – thank YOU.
I am thankful for having such wonderful parents.
And I try to use the two words “thank you” whenever someone has helped me in my daily life. It could be the cab driver, a shop keeper or the librarian. I notice that if I do this for sometime, then it kind of becomes like a reflex action, that you will be thankful whenever someone has touched your life in whatever small way.
Welcome to my blog Kevin.
Thank you for sharing your learning about how expressing thanks soon becomes a habit and a reflex action whereby we are thankful to anyone who touches our lives, small or big way.
Dear Arvind,
A simple but powerful reminder your today’s post is. So often we take people’s actions for granted thinking it’s their job and never bother to thank them for what they do even though it may be their job. For example, the newspaper delivery person, or the janitor or the pizza delivery person. Here in India at least, these people and jobs are taken for granted – as if they were born to serve. We don’t have a culture of saying “thank you”.
How humane and how touching it would be if we stopped a second to thank them for keeping our office buildings clean or for delivering the pizza on time or for giving us the daily newspaper.
Thanks YOU for reminding us of the power in these two simple words.
Cheers and have a great day,
Rashmie
Rashmie, you hit the nail on the head – so often we do take people’s actions for granted and do not show our appreciation because we believe it’s their job to do things for us.
Sadly, I have noticed this too during my visits to India where the people who serve are treated as if they didn’t exist.
So it needs more of us to start showing our appreciation to everyone who does something for us.
Thank you.
Thank You!
I am most grateful for my beautiful wife.
Alex
Alex, thanks for sharing.
Your wife is a lucky woman:-)
Two words that permeate any language and all souls Arvind so thank you for reminding us all of the simplest form of loving respect. I am thankful for my wonderful friends and for the ability to live free as me. What more can you ask for? And for your constant sharing with the world I thank you. You walk the walk and talk the talk as well as blog the blog.
Thank you John.
Let’s both continue to blog the blog for a long time:-)
Thank you Arvind for this post. You make an excellent point that it disempowers those who offer a compliment when you don’t say thank you. It’s also an act of self love to accept a compliment and so many of us struggle to love ourselves enough to do that. Well said as always.
Katie, it’s indeed an act of self-love to accept a compliment gracefully.
So many of us have almost been taught to be so self-effacing as to deflect any positive words said about us.
I used to be the same – now I know better. I simply say “thank you” 🙂
Thank you.
Hi Arvind,
I wake with a heart full of gratitude for the day, and I fall asleep with a heart full of gratitude for the day..some say I wake with a smile, and I fall asleep with a smile..Lots happens in between..but “thank you” is so powerful..and I share it each time I think it..I watch as thank you brightens someone’s day..My thank you may not be words, but a small token or gesture to say I see you and I appreciate you..I also write notes to let people know how they have touched my life..
And *thank you* for all that you share:)
Hello again Joy!
Thanks for sharing how you bring so much joy in the lives of others. We need more joyous people like you in the world.
Right – I am now off to bed full of gratitude – and a huge smile as I fall asleep.
Thank you:-)
I am thankful for coming across your blog today!
So….
THANK YOU!!
🙂
Thanks friend for visiting! Happy blogging.
PS I visited your blog but couldn’t find your name. Thanks for listing my site as an inspirational read.
Thanks for visiting my blog. It’s a new project! 🙂
Regards,
Syafique
Good luck Syafique with your new project:-)
Thank You Arvind. What a great reminder that directs our attention to something that is so easy to do, but that can have immeasurable benefits on how we experience life and positively impact the people around us. It is so easy to get caught up in all the things that we are doing and focusing on, but we should always be able to appreciate those people around us and express our gratitude. Great post.
Sibyl, good to see you on here again.
The best things in life are also usually the simplest and the same applies here. You can change someone’s state and whole being with just two simple words.
Wishing you all the best.
Hi Arvind,
A great reminder of the power of words combined with manners.
My grandmother said that please and thank you wouldn’t hurt me and that a smile would never crack my face.
It’s such a pity that so few of us practice the art of courtesy and enjoy its many benefits.
Just a simple thank you and a smile makes the world of difference to those who are on the receiving end and it costs you nothing other than a grateful attitude.
Andre, your grandmother was clearly a very wise woman.
A grateful attitude transforms both us and the receiver.
Dear Arvind,
Thank you. Thank you for bringing love to so many of us. Thank you for your insight and perspective, your contribution to making the world a better place…and for taking us on your picnic and birthday celebration…the occasions you share with us on your blog.
Today I’m thankful for my beautiful friends, my body that carries me through this magnificent life, the beauty of our world, family, my work, and life in general.
It’s good to remember all we have.
I always enjoy thanking people and I strive to let people know how much they mean to me and what I appreciate about them.
Love,
Lauren