The Importance of Being Grateful (Part Two)

“Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.” -William Arthur Ward

Note: This is part two of the “Importance of Being Grateful” double-feature. In the first part here, I wrote about how expressing gratitude is important for two reasons: 1) good karma, and 2) you document your positive influences, which pushes you to keep growing and improving. I also expressed gratitude to those who’ve positively influenced me and Lifebeat.

When you express gratitude, do you effectively do it? Or do you just say “thanks?” If you want your gratitude to really mean something, you have to express to the person how they’ve helped you.

Think about it: what’s been more meaningful and helpful to you? Hearing someone just say “thanks, I appreciate what you’ve done,” or actually express how you’ve helped and positively influenced them?

Just a “Thanks” Isn’t Enough

There are two benefits when you express to the person how they’ve helped or positively influenced you:

1. You clearly state your thoughts, which helps you to know how you’ve improved and what to keep doing to grow
2. You help the other person know what they’re doing right, so that they can continue helping you and others even more

When it comes to gratitude, just a “thanks” is nice, but it’s not enough. Express how and why you’re grateful, and you’ll help both yourself and the person you’re grateful for.

In part one of the “Importance of Being Grateful” here, I didn’t just list off some people and say I’m grateful for them; I clearly expressed how they’ve been a positive influence to me and my site Lifebeat.

I saw where I was improving and what to keep focusing on, and hopefully the people I thanked got more insight into where some of their strengths lie in helping and influencing others.

Lifebeat Commenters I’m Grateful For

I want to thank everyone who has left a great comment on Lifebeat. Your messages constantly humbled and encouraged me.

Many times, your take on the topic I wrote about gave me and other readers new food for thought. And some of you disagreed with a purpose, which provided an insightful discussion between us. Dunno about you, but I definitely gained something through those moments.

We learned. We laughed. We cried.

…Well, not much crying. But lots of learning and laughter.

Here are remarkable readers who constantly left awesome comments and sometimes interacted with me and others, turning my humble little site into a mini-community of sorts (in alphabetical order):

Alex Conway, Chris Peterson, Concojones, Dean Dwyer, Florin, Henri Junttila, Ian Nuttall, Jared Yellin, Jordan Cooper, Kerry Grier, Mark Dowdell, Michelle Adams, Nathan Hangen, Rich Lazzara, Tiffany Thompson, Tim, Tomas Stonkus, Walter Adena.

Here are more remarkable readers who also left thoughtful, insightful, and otherwise meaningful comments (in alphabetical order):

Ali Hale, Anthony Feint, Archan Mehta, Brad Edgar, Brian Schultz, Cathy Williams, Ching Ya, Chris Guillebeau, Cindy Stephenson, Constantin Gabor, Deborah Kunzie, Eric Heavilin, Glen Stansberry, Gordie Rogers, Hulbert Lee, Jackie Beck, Jon Mills, Joseph Ratliff, Josh Hanagarne, Lana Kravtsova, Maren Kate, Marilou Silverman, Nancy, Oscar Del Ben, Ralph Jean-Paul, Ryan Biddulph, Ryan Schmitz, Steven Handel, Vincent Tan, Yanina Wolfe.

Meaningful and Helpful Gratitude

If you want your gratitude to really mean something, you have to express to the person how they’ve helped you. You’ll also help both yourself and the person this way: you’ll see how you’ve improved and what to keep focusing on, and the person will see what their strengths are in helping and positively influencing others.

What positive influences have you had lately? Who are you grateful for? How have you been expressing your gratitude?

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(Image: Kobato)

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