May 23, 2022

The way to develop the best in people is through encouragement and appreciation. The way to get the worst from them is by continually bringing up their faults without mentioning the things they do well.

Expressions of gratitude and encouragement build the spirit and strengthen people to try harder, yet fault finding breaks the spirit and causes them to feel hopeless and give up. Saying thank you doesn’t cost anything. Thank you contains the power to encourage and motivate a person to keep going; the power to lift them up and change what might have been a bad day into a good one.

There’s an interesting relationship between encouragement and appreciation. When we encourage someone, they often feel appreciated, and when we thank them for something, they feel encouraged.

There are many practical ways to encourage people or thank them for what they do in the everyday, ordinary aspects of life. I challenge you to use your creativity and find ways to bless the people around you. Remember, people who feel cared for, do more.

As Miller Williams states: “Have compassion for everyone you meet, even if they don’t want it. What appears to be bad manners, ill temper or cynicism is always a sign of things no ears have heard, no eyes have seen. You do not know what wars are going on deep down there where the spirit meets the bone.”

-Adapted by The Power of Thank You