5 Simple Ways to Show Gratitude

Expressing gratitude isn’t just about a simple thank you. There’s more to it than the feel-good emotions your actions bring to people whom you’re showing gratitude towards. Expressing gratitude is actually a powerful tool for your?own well-being ?as well. Gratitude is proven to increase your?happiness . And if your own happiness isn’t motivation enough, it will deepen your relationships, make someone happier and encourage them to repeat the good behaviour. Credit where credit is due, right? We came up with a few ways you can tell the people in your life how much you appreciate them.?

Thank yourself?

In trying to keep up with everything that is going on around the world, we tend to ignore all that we do for ourselves. Instead, we end up being our harshest critics, constantly holding ourselves to impossibly high standards and pointing a magnifying glass at every minute shortcoming until we see nothing but our innumerable flaws. We forget to extend the same kindness to ourselves that we so generously extend to others. It’s important to remember that despite everything, we’re trying our best to take care of ourselves — mentally, physically, and emotionally. And while self-care often does involve the very difficult task of introspection and self-improvement, sometimes it’s necessary to give ourselves a pat on the back and be grateful for how far we’ve come. Here’s how to do that:

• Take a mental day off. Do whatever you would like to do. Lay in bed, or on the ground.
• Cook for one or order in your favourite food.
• Put on your favourite outfit, feel your best and do a photoshoot for yourself (and if you feel like it later, post it online for everyone to fawn over you!).

Thank your caregivers — whether it’s the family you’re born into or the family you’ve chosen?

Sometimes, we end up taking for granted the people we’re closest to. As we go about putting our best foot forward for the rest of the world to see and appreciate, we forget to do the same for our loved ones. It’s true that you shouldn’t have to force niceness with the people you love, that they will just?get it?both on the good days and the bad. But they can have expectations too — and you?should?be expressing your love and gratitude from time to time instead of assuming that they already know how you feel. They love you (almost) unconditionally and have seen you during your rough moments and stood by you — take some time out to remind them how glad you are to have them in your life and that you feel the same.

• Give them a day off to relax and offer to do all their chores for them.
• Tell them, most times we don’t say thank you enough, and sometimes even small gestures of acknowledgement are enough.
• Plan a day around their favourite activities, this could include a day-long marathon of their favourite movies, a visit to the spa, or even something as simple as an evening walk

Thank your friends

Through tough mental health days, breakups, and good hair days — your friends have seen it all. They’re the first people we think of every time we have good or bad news to share, but have you ever thanked them for listening to you? For being by your side through thick and thin? Adult friendships are anyway hard to keep up with, what with life and all its myriad responsibilities always getting in the way. Our jobs, families, and chores always end up being a priority, while our friends slip away to the background until one of us needs to rant. Make an effort to reach out to them just to show them how grateful you are to have them in your life. There’s no one right way of doing that, you could:

• Write them a thank you card or an e-card. Go beyond the simple text message.?
• Send them a care package full of their favourite things and stuff you think would be useful for them.
• Sign yourselves up for a hobby they enjoy so you can spend some time together

Thank your coworkers

We may not be as close to our colleagues as we are to our families and friends, in fact it’s natural not to be. Yet we spend the majority of our day interacting with them, and their presence impacts our lives as greatly as our friends and family do. Through tough presentations and difficult times, our colleagues remain in the thick of it with us for better or worse. Showing them some kindness and acknowledging all that they do helps you not only to build better personal relationships but also boosts the overall team morale. Incorporating gratitude into daily interactions at the workplace can instantly uplift spirits even on the most demanding of days. Here’s how to do it:

• Appreciate their work, even if it has nothing to do with your own. An email about their good work rather than the next task will be a pleasant surprise.
• If you see them struggling, lend a hand, advice, or just an ear.?
• Acknowledge their work in public.?

Thank your support staff

Support staff are often the unsung heroes of every organization — they’re the people on ground ensuring that an organization’s essential services are running seamlessly. In the case of the larger society, frontline workers include those providing essential, face-to-face healthcare, education and childcare, public transport, safety, sanitation, utilities and other services, basically ensuring everything runs in order for the society to maintain stability. Naturally, they’re immensely overburdened and often underpaid, so the least we can do is acknowledge their effort and thank them for all that they do. You can thank them by:

• Spreading awareness about the good that they’re doing.?
• Reach out to frontliners that you know and ask them how you could help them — perhaps send them a meal or offer to check on their family.?
• Volunteering to take some of the load off them.

Also read: How to Identify Your Loved One's Love Language