Wednesday, April 8, 2009

The Power of Appreciation

“Feeling gratitude and not expressing it
is like wrapping a present and not giving it.”
~ William Arthur Ward



This week as I sorted through my usual stack of catalogs, coupons, flyers, advertisements and bills, all delivered to me through the (good old fashioned) US snail mail, I found something else. Something that added joy to my day.

I received in a handwritten thank you note from my friend and colleague Michelle Hazelwood. When I listed her in one of my regular e-zines, I didn't tell her. I did not doit hoping for a thank you, I did it because I believe in her and the integrity of the work that she does with other people (Note: I have received other gestures of thank you from other people mentioned in my e-zines, however, Michelle went an extra mile and today she is my One)

Michelle's handwritten thank you note did two things:

(1) simply conformed that what I believe about her is true and
(2) gave me a good feeling, which comes back again every time I see her note on my desk.
and her note is now page one in my Kudos binder.

Sending notes of Gratitude used to be an expected social behavior. In those days people who didn't send them usually didn't find themselves receiving future invitations or gifts.

Zig Ziglar, one of my all time favorite mentors shares a story on his website about US President Theodore Roosevelt, and notes that his life story indicates that he was not only an extraordinarily successful man, but surely one of the busiest and best organized ever. However, with all of his"busy-ness" . . . he still retained some of those human qualities that made him so successful. Simple example: He never forgot to thank others who did things for him.

I had the good fortune of meeting Ziglar in my early 20's, and the opportunity to shake his hand and thank him personally for the lessons I had learned from his book See You at the Top Recently, through his son, I was able to send Zig a detailed thank you letter of how his words helped me blaze the trail of my life since I first met him over 30 years ago.

I admit it took time to write my thank you letter, as I'm sure it took my friend Michelle more than a few seconds to write her thank you note to me. As I wrote the thank you letter to Zig, I could feel a powerful energy rising in me. After sending it, all day I felt lighter, more enthused, more creative and some of the challenges on my To-Do list seemed to be accomplished with more ease.

Peoples attitudes about expressing "Thank You" have changed. Some people write long gratitude lists, but keep them to themselves. Some people will send a quick Thank you in an email reply or an e-card, and some still do take the time to write a heartfelt thank you note.

Ziglar also taught me about the Notes of Appreciation I wrote about in my book, The "G" Spot, the ecstasy of life through Gratitude. Even a short written thank you note, especially to someone who doesn't expect it, can change two lives that day - theirs and yours. That one positive action is powerful.

Sometimes the best way to find time in our day is to take time to write a genuine thank you.

I recently received a handwritten thank you note from a reader of my book, and she concluded her note telling me that she was now inspired to write thank you notes to all her children. I have asked her to write that on the Gratitude Spot blog so other people may be inspired by her words and actions.

Here's an experiment you may want to add to your day and see the power it has in your life:

ONE-A-DAY


For the next 7 days, write a sincere heartfelt thank you note to one person in your life. Just one!

The next day, one more.

Only one a day.

One or all of four things will happen:
(1) You will find more people to thank than you first thought you had;
(2) you may want to do more than one a day. (resist the temptation);
(3) you will discover something new about yourself;
(4) you will feel a shift in your energy, your feelings and sometimes your physical body.

Today, Michelle is my ONE.

I look forward to reading how One-A-Day made a difference in your life.


NOTE -
One of the bonus gifts offered to people who bought the book, the "G" Spot, the ecstasy of life through Gratitude - was a set of custom greeting cards by renowned artist Juliane. Refer back to the link you received when you purchased the book and get your free greeting cards so you can start your ONE right away. if you have lost your bonus gifts link, contact me.