It definitely doesn’t take much to know when and what you should be thankful for. It also goes without saying that you can say you’re thankful for something, but acting on it is completely different. When we’re thankful, it’s important to make that clear. Sometimes that’s as simple as a handwritten thankyou note, but other times it requires more of a gesture or an act. No matter what, expressing your gratitude is a good (and right) thing to do – and people really appreciate it. Not sure how to put your gratitude into action? Let’s take a look.
How to Put Your Gratitude into Action
Write a thank you note. Like I mentioned above, a handwritten thank you note goes a long way – people love them! When you make them meaningful and truly think about what to say, that goes even farther in making someone feel wonderful. Expressing your gratitude is one of the best ways to reassure someone and it takes just a few moments to jot down the reasons why you’re thankful on a card. Get in the habit of this and your friends and family will feel so special each time you send one.
Practice paying it forward or random acts of kindness. Not too long ago, I pulled into a drive through coffee shop for a coffee. When I pulled up to the window, the employee told me that the car in front of me had paid for my coffee. I was so excited, so touched and could not believe it – I was also SO inspired to buy the coffee for the customer behind me. It felt like one of those moments where good is happening all around – and I had a huge smile on my face for the rest of the day. Now most of us can’t buy coffee for everyone, all of the time – but every once in a while doing something totally kind and completely random feels amazing. So go for it!
Volunteer. There’s nothing quite like having gratitude about where you are in your life. Do you find yourself feeling overwhelmed with how good things are? You have a beautiful family, food on the table and a roof over your head – it’s an amazing life and one you get to live to the fullest. Not everyone experiences that and you have the opportunity to express your own gratitude by giving back to the community. Find an organization that speaks to your heart or feels impactful to you, reach out and find out how you can give of your time. Commit to volunteering (maybe even just an hour a week) and make that your expression of gratitude for the great life you get to live. You’ll be amazed at how good you feel in return.
Share the wealth. When and if you have the ability to make monetary donations to causes you care about, you absolutely should. For many of us, that may be a small contribution to a girl scout cookie drive, a car wash or even during the holidays when various organizations are posted outside of shops. Whatever it is, when you have the means to contribute – you should. Choose the organizations you contribute to based on causes you love or can really stand behind – it will make your donation feel that much more meaningful.
So, how about you? Have you thought about ways you can express your own gratitude?
