Thank You!

Thank You! Thank You! Thank You!

How often do you say “thank you” to friends and family for something they do for you?

How often do you say “thank you” to a stranger who provides a service?

How often do you say “thank you” to strangers who gesture you in front of them in a line, hold a door open for you or in other ways helps you through your day?

Recently I attended The William Glasser Institute’sConference celebrating the 50^th Anniversary of the publication of Dr. Glasser’s book Reality Therapy. At one point I visited The Embassy Suites hotel gift shop. Since writing this post was in the back of my mind, I asked the clerk in the hotel gift shop how many people said “thank you”. He gave my question serious thought and then answered “8 out of 10, I think”.

As I was checking out of my hotel, the Mardi Gras next door to The Embassy Suites, I stopped by the bar to get my water bottle filled with ice and water. I’d met the bartender, Tim, on my first day when I waited in the bar (instead of sitting in front of the slot machines) until a room was ready. He’d been very welcoming and while I did thank him at the time, I made sure to tell him again how much I appreciated his welcome.

His smile made my day! He also grabbed a card and ran across the room to hand it to me. “If you don’t mind,” he said. “TripAdvisory?” The shuttle was out front so I took the card, said “no problem” and headed out the door.

I invite you to see what happens when you say “Thank You” to the clerk at the grocery store, the person who pushes the elevator button for your floor, the person who motions you ahead of them, lets you into a line of traffic (you can mouthed the words with a big smile and wave – they’ll get the message).

Look for people to acknowledge with two very powerful words: Thank You.

Last Monday I talked about the power of a smile. You might find as I have that saying “Thank You” not only puts a smile on my face but on the face of another.

JudithAshley is the author of The Sacred Women’s Circle series, romantic fiction that honors spiritual paths that nurture the soul. The fifth book in the series, Hunter, is due out Summer 2015.

Learn more about The Sacred Women’s Circle series here.

Judith blogs at Romancing The Genres on the first Friday of each month.