3 Ideas To Make Sharing Appreciation Easier and More Frequent

Summary: Thank people more often and you’ll both be happier.

2020 has been a great year in helping people find things to be thankful for that may not have fully appreciated before such as breathing the air outside (wildfires) or traveling to see an elderly family member. There are so many amazing people that make a difference everyday that don’t get as much recognition or appreciation. This includes, but are not limited to delivery workers, lab technicians, teachers, and all the people who make working from home possible.

Below are three recommendations I’ve found helpful to share my appreciation.

1) Journaling & Imagining Loss: Taking a moment each day to reflect on things to be grateful for from a personal and professional perspective. Imagining the loss of things we have or a different outcome from a situation/meeting is one way to increase gratitude. This can be a good source of inspiration if you take up the habit of daily gratitude journaling. You can imagine tragic situations such as the loss of someone you care about to the mundane — what if there weren’t any clean dishes this morning or my computer stopped working during a presentation. Knowing the loss did not occur can give you a new source of gratitude and maybe even inspire you to share your appreciation. I use this technique to ward off hedonic adaptation (loss of the increased happiness after getting things), thinking how I’d feel if my wide screen monitor broke.

2) Thanking people who help support us: Building on the concept of imagining the loss of something, imagine if delivery workers were not able to provide your supermarket new food, deliver your holiday gifts, or get tests or chemicals to labs. It can make someone’s day to thank them and let them know how grateful you are for what they do, even sending a hand-written note. For those who can, also providing tips beyond the default low percentage. Imagine how surprised and happy someone could be in getting a $20 tip instead of $2.

3) Catching people doing the right things: Actively look for ways to thank people at work, catching them doing the right things. This is a concept I love as it reinforces the right behaviors, motivates people, and encourages active listening — a positive flywheel effect. An example is thanking someone for proactively sharing an idea to increase productivity as it helps to inspire other people to share ideas and the idea could improve work-life balance. Using the Situation-Behavior-Impact framework lets people know why you are thanking them and reinforces the positive behavior. Garry Ridge and Ken Blanchard wrote a book that epitomizes the culture and concept of catching people do the right things in, Helping People Win at Work: A Business Philosophy Called “Don’t Mark My Paper, Help Me Get an A”.

Questions: What ideas have you tried for sharing your appreciation? What challenges have you faced?

Thank you for reading the post and for sharing any thoughts or reactions you have. I am happy to answer questions or take feedback in the comments.