How to Express Gratitude?

Gratitude is the quality of being thankful to someone and showing appreciation as a return for their kindness. People who are thoughtful try to make your life effortless and blissful. Your mother who cooked your favorite food, your sibling who protected you from the bullies, your father who provided for your education and your partner who filled your life with enormous love and affection need to be thanked by you every day. There are a lot of people who care for you and have tried to remove all the threats from your life without expecting anything in return. People express their love through making little efforts. Do you make such efforts for those people in return? Do you express gratitude? It is true that your loved ones do not expect you to repeat what they do but they do expect your appreciation. They need your approval to feel loved. Why does a person make the other person feel special? They do so because they love that person and they want the person to love them back. If you cannot undertake efforts to make the other person feel desirable because of any reason, then you can at least praise the other person for what they do for you.

Moreover, expressing gratitude has various benefits out of which happiness is the most important. A person who expresses gratitude to others remains stress-free as they do not have to worry about their loved ones leaving them alone. When a person only faces criticism, the chances of them quitting increases and therefore, it is vital to cherish the relationships we have by appreciating their existence in our lives. We should all be thankful for having wonderful people around us at home and at work. According to a report published in Personality and Individual Differences in 2012, people who express gratitude experience fewer aches and pain in their body because they feel healthier. The people who are grateful take care of their health more than those who do not. The effect of expressing gratitude is not just over the body but the mind as well. Positivity flows in the mind of those who practice gratitude. Thanking someone feels like you have released some stress out of your mind. It feels exactly how you feel when you tell someone you love them and they revert affirmative. You can strengthen your bonds with the people in your life by expressing gratitude. A simple word “thank you” can create magic if you use it at the right place at the right time. Thanking someone you do not personally know can make them happy and your too. You can thank the waiter at a restaurant, or the cab guy who dropped you home after work. These people will receive some different and yet amazing energy to work harder when they get appreciated. You will also feel elated knowing that you made someone happy. So, how do you express gratitude?

The best way to tell someone that you appreciate their effort is to talk to them directly. Meet the person and tell them that you are grateful to have them in your life. Express your love through words that they can cherish for a long time. Make them feel as special as they make you feel. You will be able to witness their expressions when they hear you. The countenance on their face will speak a thousand things they wouldn’t be able to say at the moment. The feeling for you would be equally precious because you will remember it for a long time. The bond between you and the person will strengthen, and the trust will increase. Sometimes simply speaking to someone about your feelings can be the best way to display your affection for them.

If you cannot meet the person because they either live far away from you or you do not have the time to meet them, then, in this case, you can send them your love in the form of a gift. Flowers with a note saying thank you can brighten anybody’s day. You could send notes or cards by writing down your emotions and thoughts on them. This way you can show your concern, and you will not have to leave all of your work. You could wait for a holiday like the Thanksgiving to meet them. Express gratitude by sending them a useful gift. Send a gift that they can have for a long time and every time they see it, they will remember you. Try to remember if they spoke about buying something they need, because then you can gift that thing. Like if your wife talked about owning a new pair of shoes because the older ones are worn out, then you can gift them a pair of new shoes. But make sure that they have not bought a new pair already. Your wife will feel special thinking that you remember small details about them. You can help your loved ones by fulfilling their needs without making them feel obliged.

Gifts and words are not the only way to express gratitude. Small gestures can make a person feel appreciated. Respecting people and being polite with them is also a way to show you need them in your life. There may be some people who are older than you and the way to show gratefulness is by respecting and obeying them. You want to thank your parents for being there for you in every fall; then the best way could be conforming to their ideas or by helping them in their daily chores. Is your father going shopping? Take the job in your hands and shop for your father. Your mother has a lot of works in her hand, so you can do your bit to lessen her workload like you could clean your room and make your siblings do the same. Helping your friends or siblings with homework can be another gesture to express gratitude towards them.

The best way to tell the people that you care is to spend time with them. You may have a lot of work, but your family and your friends are your responsibilities as well. You cannot overlook them for your work. If they take out time from their busy schedules, then you must too. Plan outings with them or just spend time at home with them. You will get plenty of opportunities to express your gratitude to them. Sometimes we get so busy in our lives that we forget we have a personal life. Your partner must be waiting to spend some quality time, or your parents must be waiting for you to get free to know about your well-being. By spending the time, you will be assuring them of your health and success. Your health and life are the most valuable aspects for your loved ones.

The process of expressing gratitude should not be only about you. You need to thank other people, and for that, you need to listen to them. Lend an ear to your friends and family and listen to what all is going in their life. They were by your side when you needed them, and it is time to repay. Pay attention to their requirements. Ask them about their life and well-being. They may be going through some problems in their life, and you can repay by helping them through their rough time. A lot of times, we just need someone to listen to us to relieve ourselves from the stress.

You can offer help to people who do not know you. Every person in this world works hard to achieve something. We all lack the feeling of being with our family. Nobody has time for anyone, and hence the world lacks the feeling of belonging and humanity. One generous act can make the other person feel good about life. You can help strangers by opening the doors for them or by pulling the chair for someone. You can help a blind person cross the street or a senior citizen by guiding them through the crowd. These small acts will restore people’s faith in humanity.

Respect every person regardless of their caste and creed. A person who is inferior in a position should receive equal respect as a person superior to you gets from you. A younger child or an old aged person will behave the same way as you behave with them. If you are rude, they will be rude to you, but if you want people to like you, then you need to like them. Helping people and being polite is the most basic thing a person can practice to express gratitude and to live a grudge-free life.  

If you found this article helpful, then share your views with us through the comments section below.