Change attitudes everywhere with a verbal display of gratitude

When I think of November, I think of family, time together and remember all I am thankful for.

My husband and I are blessed with a special memory in November, which is that of our daughter’s first words. I think I was expecting “mommy” or “daddy,” so when our daughter, Allison, said her first words, we thought we imagined it.

Allison, less than a year old, was playing on the floor in the kitchen with our two dogs. David and I were busy talking and getting dinner ready when we heard her clearly say her first words. We stopped to see her feeding dog food to the dogs. She would give them one and then take one for herself and pretend to eat it. When she would take one for herself, she would say, “thank you.” We were silent as we watched her do this again and again. Finally, we looked at each other and laughed and of course, I cried.

As Allison’s vocabulary continued to grow, however, she still said “thank you” more than anything else. She would thank the cashier in the store when we were given a receipt, she would thank any person who opened a door for her stroller, and she would thank the waiter who brought us food. The reaction people had to this little girl thanking them was priceless. I watched in wonder how it would change people’s attitude instantly.

My favorite “thank you” though, was after Allison, at 13 months, had surgery to correct her blocked tear duct. The surgeon came to our recovery room to tell us all had gone well. As Ally was coming out of her groggy state of mind, he looked at her and told her she had done a great job. All she said back to him was “thank you.” He looked at us in amazement, exclaiming that was a first for him and left with a tear in his eye. Allison reminded me of the power of a “thank you.”

SAY IT OUT LOUD

“Thank you” is such an important phrase to say out loud. It makes the giver and the receiver both feel better inside and changes the mood entirely.

According to the coaching and consulting firm Scala Advance (see bit.ly/37lkFsP ), “Saying thank you creates a connection between two people. It means that a good deed is acknowledged and remembered. It is a potentially powerful act, and so is the act of choosing not to say thank you.”

I have seen and heard less and less of “thank you” since wearing masks, and I do not think it is because we aren’t thankful, but because it seems like so much effort when the receiver may not hear us anyway. I would encourage everyone to thank each other more, not less. We need each other’s support, care, friendship and encouragement. A verbal “thank you” is just that. Share with your teams the power of thank you, and together we can change attitudes everywhere.

STARTING WITH YOU

Let me start with you. Thank you for supporting our writers by reading about their experiences every month. Thank you for your feedback. Thank you for being strong through all the challenges you have faced this year. Thank you for caring for your patients and making their lives better and, mostly, thank you for being you.

I am launching a social media campaign this month called “Thank you from our team to yours” in which we are reintroducing our team to our patients with a “thank you” message from each of them. We want our patients to see the people they are behind the masks. I look forward to seeing how you launch a gratitude campaign, so send me some images when you get a chance. OM

Email: april.jasper@pentavisionmedia.com

Twitter: @DrAprilJasper

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