It has now been a few days since Thanksgiving. And, in 2023, it seems like it will be celebrated in a world gone crazy. When I was thinking about writing about being thankful or expressing gratitude, I looked back to my posts from the week of Thanksgiving in prior years. I can’t say it better, so here is my annual blog for the week of Thanksgiving.

This is a good time of year to think of gratitude generally and what you’re thankful for specifically. At the same time, it’s a great time of year to spread good feelings, which you can do by letting others know when you appreciate something they have done for you. It may mean a phone call, email, or text, but it’s important to take the time to reach out, thereby investing in your relationships.

Those of you who have younger children (or older ones…) know you end up reminding them to say “thank you” all the time. That is because thanking someone or showing gratitude is a learned behavior. If it came naturally or from observing others, we wouldn’t have to teach children about how to express gratitude.

Hopefully you remember to thank people in your daily life. This may be thanking someone holding the door for me when I get to my office, for holding the elevator for me, or having the breakroom clean and ready for me to prepare a cup of tea to get that needed caffeine injection upon arriving for work. It includes thanking people on my team for their hard work to complete tasks needed to serve my clients’ interests. Many of these situations are universal to all of us, but I am sure we all remember holding a door for someone when they walked through without saying anything.

Of course, if you go through your day looking for when people should be thanking you, you will be disappointed. Instead, you should think about how you want to come across to others, as well as ways you don’t want to come across to others.

We all have bad days, but most days we should recognize when thanking someone is proper and appropriate. Thanksgiving holidays are a reminder to say things you may usually only think of yourself. Positive feedback is energizing, and hopefully the person you provide it to pays it forward. Plus, it has the bonus of making you or the other person feel good, making it a great way to go through life.