Stuff Your Turkey with Giving Thanks

Posted by Dr. Mark Goulston on November 26, 2008 4:08 PM PST

Tags: family problems, holidays, Thanksgiving

Recommend this? YES NO

Why settle for giving a “thank you”
when you can give a POWER THANK YOU?

Make giving thanks the center piece of your Thanksgiving by having each person give a Power Thank You. It has 3 parts:

Part 1: Thank someone for something specific that they did for you (it can also be something they refrained from doing that would have hurt you).

Part 2: Acknowledge the effort it took for them to do it (by saying something like: “I know you didn’t have to do —-” or “I know you went out of your way to do —-”).

Part 3: State the difference it personally made to you.

For example:

1. I want to thank the 2500 loyal subscribers who subscribe to this weekly mailing.

2. I know how much unsolicited junk mail and spam you receive, and the last thing you want is another email from anyone.

3. The fact that few of you unsubscribe AND many of you pass these along to friends and family AND occasionally take the time and make the effort to email me your thanks for these puts a smile on my face, a spring in my step, and spurs me on to continue communicating with all of you.

I’d love to hear from you if you try this and how it works out for your Thanksgiving.

Warm regards and thanks to you all,

Mark

P.S. The best way to give a “Power Thank You” is to do “Power Listening” with those you’re grateful to

P.P.S. If you’re having trouble giving thanks or listening you might want to try the following which is The Secret to Peace of Mind.

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8 Comments

That's a good idea. Every year my family makes the children do something like that and even though I am now 21, they still make me do it.

Posted by missfunkadilly on December 1, 2008 2:19 PM PST

This is something that's important to do all the time. Growing up, my family used to do a variation of this once a week around the dinner table, before dinner. When my son is older and has a better grasp on speaking, I plan to do it with him as well.

Posted by KnitsofLove on December 1, 2008 5:59 PM PST

What a fantastic idea. It's amazing how much a heartfelt "thank you" can touch another person. It's such a simple act, but one that most of us don't do often enough.

Posted by foxyloxy on December 1, 2008 10:09 PM PST

What a positive thing to do!

Posted by ysomogyi on December 2, 2008 2:36 PM PST

Good idea. Being more specific when saying "thanks" really makes a difference!

Posted by divaparalegal on December 2, 2008 2:51 PM PST

What an awesome idea! I really like the idea of Power Thanking and Power Listening. Great!

Posted by dukedogpuppy on December 2, 2008 4:29 PM PST

Just to let you know, I used your "power thanking" this Thanksgiving. I really liked your example; it brought a smile to my face. There's so much to be thankful for and doing this helps us to make others feel good too.

Posted by euroni on December 2, 2008 4:39 PM PST

As we get older the need to be polite seems to run away with our childhood. Remember when you said "thank you" and "you're welcome" and really meant it? It seems it's become a knee jerk habit to just spit out a "thanks" to everyone. I think giving a "power thanks" will brighten someone's day and be more heartfelt - so much so that it will lighten the mood of giver and receiver. It's a practice I'm going to start!