We can all do the big things correctly right? Those are easy.
What will really stand out to people are the little things you do for them.
The other day I noticed my husband was talking on the phone in the family room. Since I had just made a pot of coffee, I brought him a cup. Did he ask me to do it? No. But the gesture, as small as it was, brought a huge smile to his face. He also does the same thing for me and often surprises me by bringing home my favorite coffee from Starbucks.
We also thank each other for making dinner, doing the dishes, and countless other tasks. Do we have to do this after 30 years of marriage?
Yes. Yes we do. Because people want to feel like what they do matters. I try to never take people for granted and say “thank you” often.
Let’s take this further.
Recently, I went on a girl’s trip with my close friends Katie and Paula, and one of the things the three of us do when we travel is to present Starbucks gift cards to the flight attendants upon boarding. Flight attendants are the overlooked heroes of air travel, seldom receiving the gratitude they deserve. When Paula handed the cards to one of the flight crew members, she smiled at us and shared that in her decades of flying, this was the first time someone had ever thanked her in this way.
Broke our hearts!
Here’s another example.
Whenever I do a speaking gig, I always make it a point to thank everyone. I remember one meeting in particular. I was teaching a two-day concierge workshop. When the last person left, I went in search of the staff who had worked with us over the course of the meeting. You know the ones. The people who set the meeting room up, serve lunch, and the like. I found them in another ballroom setting up some tables.
As I walked over to them, I politely thanked them for everything they had done for us.
Strangely, they all stopped what they were doing and stared at me! A few seconds of silence went by and one of them said “wow.”
Wow?
So I smiled again, extended my arm out to shake their hands, and thanked them a second time.
This time one of them found their voice. “Our apologies Mrs. Giovanni, but you are the first guest since I have been working here to ever come back and thank us, and I’ve been here for over ten years.”
My heart broke in two pieces as he spoke, and tears came to my eyes. I immediately walked over to him and gave him a big hug.
Saying thank you is such a simple thing and it means so much to people. There is a reason why the words “thank you” are among the first words parents teach their children to use.
On the flip side, not saying thank you and not appreciating people is one of the main reasons people quit their jobs, leave relationships, and end friendships.
People want to be appreciated. They want to feel that what they do matters!
So here’s my message … please say thank you as often as you can.
Say thank you to the people who are behind the scenes getting it done. Thank you to the people you live with. Thank you to your friends when they do something nice for you. Thank you to your angels and guides who are helping you every day.
Remember, every act of showing gratitude and love has the power to not only impact someone else’s life, even if only for a brief moment, but to profoundly transform your own.
Keep spreading kindness, and witness the magic it brings into your life and the lives of those around you.
