THANKS

We deal with the third of the magic words in English, which we extensively use in our everyday conversation. Despite our best efforts we have to necessarily live with others and this means there is always some give and take. Therefore when we get something from others we have to be grateful and when we give, it is logical that others will be grateful in most cases. The one common way to express our sincere gratefulness is by saying THANKS which is True Honest Appreciation Nicely Kindly Shared.

It is important to note that if we say thanks as an obligation, we will neither convey our sincerity nor will we get the satisfaction of having being truthful and genuine. It is essential therefore that we should learn to appreciate the efforts and importance of others in our lives for only then can we really know their worth and contribution to our daily living. If you look back the people whom we often took for granted are our parents. They have definitely had to sacrifice so many things just to ensure that we are brought up right, given the right upbringing, education and values. They have had anxious moments when we fell sick, when we found it hard to cope with studies, when we fought with our friends and got injuries when playing; and yet did we care to tell them thanks (except perhaps when they obliged you or gave you some gifts). Perhaps we also felt foolish saying thank you to them, but thanks can be also expressed in many other ways.

While saying thanks aloud is the easiest way of expressing our sentiments, there are so many other ways to convey our thanks. A spontaneous gift in appreciation is both a token of love and thanks. Remember the little gifts we gave our lover for no particular reason than to say I love you and also to convey our thanks for their presence in our lives. A hug and a kiss are also demonstrative ways of saying thanks. If you don’t hug your parents and siblings you are missing a wonderful opportunity to express yourself fully to them. Picking up the phone and chatting with a friend is another way of saying how much you value them in your life. Speaking well of people when talking to others is perhaps a very subtle and much appreciated form of conveying your thanks about the person being spoken about. There is nothing like a personal visit with no personal agenda that conveys genuine thanks to the people you visit. Do you any particular school teacher who has had a profound positive impact on your life? Have you ever visited them after leaving school and just told them how much you value them? 

We have ample opportunities in daily life to display our upbringing and manners and motivating others by saying thanks. It could be someone who helped you pick up something you have dropped or it could be the cab driver who was courteous and professional in his work or it could be a colleague who went out of his/ her way to help you meet a deadline. Of course each day is incomplete without a word of thanks to the almighty without whose blessings our life would be meaningless and incomplete.   We can express our thanks to the almighty too in various ways mostly commonly in the form of prayers but also in strictly following rituals or in just living a good and holy life. The key to saying THANKS is in expressing it as a True Honest Appreciation Nicely Kindly Shared. 

Action Points: 

1. Make a list of people who have had a major influence on your life and whom you would like to thanks. Outline a plan of action by using the learning from above to express your thanks to them.
2. Try to identify at least 3 people whom you meet during the course of the day who could do with some appreciation and you must make it a point to thank them genuinely for what they do well, even if it is them simply doing their job.eg.it could be the postman or a courteous bus conductor or the waiter in the restaurant.

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Powering your Spirit to ACT Now.

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PLEASE

In last weeks post we saw the first of the 3 magic words in English –SORRY. Today we focus on the another magic word PLEASE which each and everyone of us has used very extensively, primarily to get our way but mainly to seek the indulgence of others. We use it as requests, occasionally it is used because of force of habit but it is most effective when we use it as fervent entreaties. Usually the other person gives a patient hearing and accepts our pleas, when we say PLEASE especially when it comes out as Plain Lament & Earnest Appeal Seeking Empathy.  

The magic in please lies in its simplicity and its power of diffusing the toughest of situations, melting hardened hearts and softening the blows of deserved punishments. To begin with, as children we have liberally used the word please to seek parental approval for some of our pet plans which at first may have been opposed by our elders. It could be seeing late night TV on a weekend, having a sleepover at a friends place or wanting an expensive gift or toy. There were times of course when the fervent entreaties didn’t work and we got upset and angry and threw tantrums which occasionally helped us get our way but more often than not simply turned out to be a frustrating experience. Yet the next time around we still persisted with saying please.  

One of the wonders of the word please is that it can be used irrespective of one’s age, one’s social status or one’s ultimate objective. Not just children, almost every one resorts to the power of PLEASE to expresses their anguish and pain as also to get the favor one seeks. One of the oddest sights in democracy is the desperate please extensively spouted by the electoral candidates when canvassing for votes. Equally ironical is the please served as defensive pleas by the lawyers of accused criminals seeking leniency in sentencing. For the ordinary mortal, using please to get our way ahead in a line or to catch the attention of someone for help or for some physical assistance are most common place. 

Of course each of us has also resorted to using please to seek pardon for some error or mistake or to get some favors but it is when the please is a desperate attempt to hold on to affections that it has a poignant ring and pain in it. Many may have experienced the please that follows a lovers tiff. It has a ring of genuine sorry, a desperate cry and the willingness to accept once fault all to ensure that our plea is heard and accepted. The please that follows a lovers tiff is also the one that keeps losing its sheen the more often it is used. It is the please that children poignantly cry out when berated and ignored as punishment by their parents that often melts the hardened hearts and brings quick relief to a tense and unpleasant situation. Unfortunately many many times, there are people all around us who are desperately seeking affection, understanding, companionship, support, acceptance and solace but we seem to be indifferent to their needs. They do not articulate their please aloud, but it is for us to hear it in our hearts, in our conscience and in our humaneness and then we can hear PLEASE as a Plain Lament & Earnest Appeal Seeking Empathy. 

Action Points:  

1. When we are at fault are we ashamed to admit it? Do we find it humiliating to also say please and ask for pardon for our mistakes? Do we find it hard to forgive those who say please and humbly seek our forgiveness? 
2. Think of the most poignant moments in your life when you said please and was rewarded with a pardon /reprieve /forgiveness/ understanding

• When you disobeyed your parents and then sought forgiveness
• When you goofed at school and sought a teachers pardon
• When you had a bitter misunderstanding with a close friend and latter wanted to clear the air
• When you wrongly accused someone and on realizing your error wanted to be forgiven for the mistake
• When you bitterly fought/ disagreed with your spouse / lover and then sought reconciliation

PS: Here is the answer to the 2^nd Try This in the post in our daily blog www.actspot.wordpress.com  dated 19Jan11, on The Challenge of Decision Making   is ‘We would decide to try and save the painting nearest the exit.’ Logical isn’t it, for our life is more precious to us than our favorite painting.

Power Act - from http://www.actspot.com/ is focused on -

Powering your Spirit to ACT Now.

You are also invited to visit our DAILY inspirational and motivational blog http://www.actspot.wordpress.com/