We’re a pretty cheery bunch in New Zealand; the words ‘thank you’ are uttered often, and with wild abandon. So much so that when my English OH and I visited a few years ago, he actually turned to me and muttered: ‘Why do people keep saying that?!’
Here, however, it seems those two little words don’t spill forth quite so readily. In fact, the recent PHILIPS GREAT BIG LITTLE THANK YOU REPORT has revealed that 82% of Britons would like to receive more thanks for the little things they do. Even more shockingly, two-fifths of the people surveyed admitted they were more likely to say thank you to a complete stranger than their own family member, friend, or colleague *shakes head, and tuts*.
But what if we simply stopped taking our loved ones for granted, and took those few seconds to let them know they were appreciated. I accepted the challenge to find out….
So I plastered on a good old Kiwi smile, and began my charm offensive. ‘Thank you!’ I chirped loudly to the barista who sold me my daily coffee. He looked up, startled, then smiled broadly. ‘You’re welcome.’
When Big Sis showed me a picture she’d drawn for me, I made a point of sitting down with her, and really paying attention as she explained it was a drawing of a woman with a beard, who had witchy eyes (yeah, I don’t know either). ‘Wow darling,’ I replied. ‘Thank you SO much – I absolutely love it!’
Her face lit up to see me so excited about it, which made me ME feel happier too. Later that night, when OH did the dishes, I made a point of thanking him. He looked at me curiously. ‘What’s up with you?’ he asked. ‘You usually tell me I haven’t scrubbed the pots properly.’ But, just when I thought he hadn’t appreciated the gesture, I saw a little smile sneak across his face.
Turns out manners don’t cost a thing, smiles are contagious, and a little gratitude really does go a long way. But, best of all, I didn’t just cheer up the people I thanked, I felt pretty darn good myself.
Why don’t you try it out for yourself? In fact, let’s make it interesting… join in with the Great Big Little Thank You Challenge you could win a Philips Air Fryer! Enter HERE, and thank me later.
No…wait… you can thank me now! #BIGLITTLETHANKS
