The Importance of Saying “Thank You”
Posted by Denny on 11 Feb 2008 at 03:31 pm | Tagged as: Parenting Tips, self esteem
US President Theodore Roosevelt has been described as founder of the Bull Moose Party, the man who led his troops up San Juan Hill in the Spanish-American War, a big game hunter, family man, civic servant and a host of other things.
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. On his whistle-stop tours during his campaign trips, he always left his private car to thank the engineer and fireman for a safe and comfortable trip. True, it took only a few minutes of his time, but when your minutes are so few, they are quite important. He felt that those minutes were well invested and he enjoyed meeting the people who had served him so well. In the process he made friends for life. Doing simple little things endeared Roosevelt to people all across America, which certainly was a significant reward for the few minutes it took him to say thank you.
Someone once said that you could always tell a “big” man by the way he treated a “little” man. By that yardstick alone you would have to agree that Theodore Roosevelt was a “big” man.
Message: Take time to be kind and to say “thank you.” The returns can be so great that you will be amazed!
This lesson starts with you - the adult. Model this behavior and your child will be certain to pick up the good habit you have created.
Enjoyed this conversation especially today. Recently I logged some especially long and stressful hours at work to prepare for a weeks vacation and to assist my unit with assignments in my absense. Upon returning today for a long ten hour day of “catch up” I opened mail which held a letter my Supervisor had initiated and mailed off to our CEO. The letter noted how appreciative my Supervisor was for my work, our department exceeded our quarterly goals which in his assessment was largely due to my efforts. His thanks certainly made my day much more pleasant. I try to consistently show my appreciation to others and apprciate that quality in my children most certainly!