This is Tip #16 from my Special Report written for recent high school graduates. It is also relevant to most adults. (Make that all adults.)
Show Appreciation Regularly. My good friend Stuart Cohen refers to this as the “attitude of gratitude.” Another way of looking at this is “knowing what side of the bread the butter goes on.” Showing thanks is of great importance and significance. And although everybody knows they should do it, this practice is seldom exercised.
Knowing what should be done and doing it are two entirely different things. I think the reason we fail to exercise this courtesy is blamed on “time.” Time often represents the ideal excuse.
I strongly recommend that you select one day each week to write a hand-written thank you note to somebody in your world who has made a difference in your life. The key is to write this note by hand. I realize this is a stretch for many of you, but I can’t stress enough the importance of this small courtesy.
At this stage in your life, your “list” may just contain a handful of names, but as you grow older, your list will become quite substantial. If you manage to get into the habit of showing gratitude today, as the weeks and years unfold, you will be considered someone “special” by hundreds of influential people.
You can spare me the lame excuse that your handwriting looks like chicken scratch. Write slower. Write bigger. Use small words if you have to. Just write the note. Start this life-changing habit today. What you’ll find in very short order is that your simple sign of courtesy is a lot more meaningful than you could have ever imagined. People will contact you and tell you that you have just “made their day.”
Nothing, I repeat nothing, is more heart warming than hearing from one of your friends, relatives, or business associates that you just “made their day.”
Now this might not be fair, but I will say it anyway. I know this practice works for adults. It works ten times better if the writer happens to be a person who is less than 25 years old. This may be the closest thing to “magic” you will ever witness up-close and personal.
Here is an idea. To break the ice, write a note of appreciation to one of your teachers. Your world will change as soon as you lick the stamp.
“Life isn’t all fun and games, but a great part of it should be.”
Mike Moore
| This is just one of the tips Mike Marchev offers High School Graduates who are preparing to enter a world that does not care if they succeed or fail. Do your son, daughter, niece, nephew or next-door neighbor a favor by presenting them with their own copy of 21 Life Changing Tips For The College Bound High School Graduate. |
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