An attitude of gratitude

A thankful heart is not only the greatest virtue, but the parent of all the other virtues. – Cicero

I teach relationship skills classes as part of my role as a Chaplain. One of the skills I teach to single Soldiers as they are evaluating someone as a friend or someone for a serious relationship, is to look at the person in how they treat others, especially those that are in a serving role: retail clerk, restaurant staff or barista, maintenance worker, etc. Those interactions are an important window into the heart of that person. Eventually the way they treat those people will be how they treat you once the newness of the relationship wears off.

Being able to express appreciation to someone effectively is an important life skill.

Have you told someone “thank you,” lately? It is amazing what recognizing the contributions of others does to help change our perspective.

Instead of being impacted by the news headlines of the day or reacting to something on your social media, or even mentally planning to get even with that other driver due to your case of road-rage, a sure way to change in a more positive direction is to, as my grandparents liked to say, “count your blessings.”

Perhaps you have been on the receiving end of a welltimed expression of gratitude. Nothing seems to be going right despite your best efforts to do your job, but then a co-worker or friend or family member notices something that you did and says, “thank you for…” or “I appreciate the way you…” The emotional clouds part and there’s a ray of hope suddenly shining on you in that moment. It is so helpful, and you might have thought no one even noticed. I’ve been there, and I imagine that you have, too.

Being thankful is a powerful way to help others, and it costs a few sincere words and maybe a few extra seconds to express our gratitude. But it has to start inside. Nobody else can make me be thankful. It is a choice to realize that I am interdependent on the contributions of others. I like when others value my contributions, and so returning that recognition through expressions of gratitude is worthwhile.

So give some thought to how you can brighten someone’s day with noticing something they do well and thanking them.

And in closing, please don’t forget Mother’s Day is coming up. That is someone that for most of us, has done some things well in our lives and would love to hear us say, “Thank you.”