Attitude for Gratitude

Is gratitude being replaced by ignorance and arrogance?

The title of this article may seem a little deep, but I have been thinking about this for a while now, and it appears that nobody seems to say thank you anymore, nobody seems to be appreciative of anything.

Without wanting to sound like a cynic, I do feel that society is becoming more ignorant and self-absorbed. Yes there are good levels of selfishness, like saying no to something if you don’t have the time, or by dedicating some time to yourself or your family, instead of loading yourself up with crazy work deadlines, that is good selfish, but I wouldn’t want society to become so self-absorbed that we only care about ourselves in such a way that we do not consider anyone or anything else.

Just by saying those two little words ‘thank you’ can make the situation much more positive. It may even give the person an increased sense of purpose. And let’s face it, who doesn’t want to feel better?

Yes everyone has their own agenda in life, and yes everyone has different goals to achieve, and paths to lead, but why cant we just show a little appreciation for each and everyone that is trying their best every day? Why do we need to add to their woes by being selfish or ignorant? Is it necessary, probably not?

It could be a barista in a coffee shop handing you your drink, why wouldn’t you say thank you? Because it is their job, well of course it is, but imagine how it makes them feel every time someone does not show gratitude for the service they have just provided?

Someone holds the door open for you, why wouldn’t you say thank you? Because you didn’t ask them to do it, of course you didn’t, but they have taken valuable time out of their day to do something nice for you and you didn’t want to say thank you? Think about that.

Even at work, you do something for your boss or the client, you worked tirelessly through the night to hit the deadline because you just couldn’t face the feeling of failure, and you didn’t want people to think that you couldn’t hack it, you issue the work, and not one person says thank you, and hen your boss says “well that’s what I am paying you to do”! Imagine the pain that this comment would cause. If they had taken a different tact and said thank you, imagine the sense of relief and self-worth that you would get from those two little words. It is a far cry from the feelings you felt when not receiving any form of appreciation.

If I could ask for one thing from this article, for the readers to take a moment to think about the following - Think of how you feel when you do something nice for someone and they don’t say thank you. How does it make you feel? A little deflated, angry, upset? Well then you know how it feels when you do not say thank you to somebody else. Let’s not continue with this vicious cycle. Say thank you, show our appreciation, however big or small, and then lets all move on with our day. You have done something nice by saying thank you, and someone has received some level of gratitude and appreciation. A win-win for all parties.

Now I am not saying that society is going to change so much that we will all be walking down the street saying thank you to everyone who walks past, but I am saying that I think we need to be a little more conscious of the impact it has on someone, when we don’t show even a little bit of appreciation or gratitude.

I would hate to think that we become a society that just expects things to happen. Why should someone do that for us? Why should I say thank you? No, why shouldn’t you say thank you?

Thank you for listening.