National Thank You Month

January is National Thank You Month. I suppose this is appropriate, falling after the gifting holidays as it does. Aside from thanking friends and relatives for the gifts you received, there are other ways to put this month’s activity into practice.

This site has some suggestions.

I noticed some people on Facebook last year posting what they were grateful for each day. I’m not sure I could come up with 365, but it’s a great exercise.

The second suggestion on the site is what our family does every year at the Thanksgiving table. There are usually more than the normal number of people, so it takes a while. The ones at the end are hurrying so the food won’t get any colder and everyone is jealous of the person who goes first because he or she says everything that everyone else wants to say and we all have to think of something else.

The last one on that list is to do something nice for someone. That’s one that we could all do every day. In fact, I’ve made this my goal for a few years now. My thinking is that there’s not much I can do about the world’s problems. We should try, for certain, but on a daily basis, my actions don’t change the world. I can make someone’s day better, though. If I can get a grumpy grocery clerk to smile when I tell her I like her haircut, it makes the day better for both of us. Sometimes I have to remind myself of this. Some day I’d rather someone else made it a goal to cheer me up. But, ultimately, the only actions I control are my own. So cheering up another person is the only option that is always open to me.

Have a good month!

photo from morguefile.com