We talked last week about asking for things — money, time, help, advice, referrals, etc. With Thanksgiving on the horizon, it makes sense to talk about thanking this week.

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Your parents were right to council you to say thank you. Thanking people is important.

For one thing, I’m much more likely to help someone again who obviously appreciated my help in the past. (Maybe not the most altruistic response, but, hey, it’s true. And I don’t think I’m the only one.)

For another thing, it provides an opportunity to quantify just what someone did to help you and how it helped. And if the help wasn’t exactly what you asked for, that’s a good thing to figure out, too. Maybe you got more (or better stuff) than you asked for. Maybe you learned that your requests could be clearer.

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I have a friend who hand writes and mails (or hand delivers) wonderful thank you notes. She sent me one when she graduated from school. In fact, she sent them to everyone she felt had helped her earn her degree — her teachers, her friends, her family.

She was genuinely surprised at how touched people were by the gesture. She said to me “Don’t people thank people anymore?” “Not like that, ” I replied.

Think about how many hand-written thank you notes you’ve received. Now, think about how you feel about the people who’ve taken the time to thank you in that way.

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Try to thank people before, during and after they’ve helped you. It keeps you tapped in to the help people (or the Universe) is providing. So even if there is no specific person to thank, take time to appreciate and express gratitude for the progress you’ve made.

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Thank you for reading my blog, forwarding my posts to your friends, and for sharing your emails, ideas and comments. I value your support and your interest.

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Note: I won’t be sending a post this Friday due to the holiday. See you next Monday! ~sg