Being grateful is a very human thing to do. Gratitude for some people is a way of living. Today I 
want to talk about saying thank you – something I always try to remember to do.
When was the last time you said ‘thank you’ to someone? – at work to a colleague, at home to a family member, to a friend or someone else. What did you thank them for? – what it for something well done or for being them …
Myers Briggs can provide an introduction to difference …
Many of you know I’ve had a passion for Myers Briggs for a number of years (I’ve used it for years, but finally got around to getting qualified in 2008). For those of you who may not of heard of it – you can check out this link for more details, but in essence it was first published in 1943 by Catherine Briggs and Isabel Myers (mother and daughter) based on the work of Carl Jung one of the fathers of modern day psychology (who published a book, ‘Psychological Types’ in 1921). Carl Jung proposed that people are innately different, both in terms of the way they see the world and take in information, and how they make decisions. I describe the MBTI tool a bit like the sorting hat in Harry Potter – the Myers Briggs tool sorts you into one camp or the other (e.g. detail or big picture) – your default setting – if doesn’t say ‘how much’ of something you are – but what you preference is, what you spend most time doing (and by default what you non-preference is).
Any how I digress … one of the of the MBTI dimensions is about decision making – just ponder on this … do you (a) have a preference for logic, cause & effect, strive for the objective or (b) do you have a preference for being guided by values/gut feel, focus on the impact of a decision on the people, what people to be treated as individuals etc. If I asked you, do you prefer to be recognised for a job well done, or being a great person (e.g. ‘I’m really glad you’re part of my team’) – which way would you prefer to be recognised? … the thing is some people prefer to be recognised for a job well done (like me), but for some people that’s not of as much interest – they’re more interested in what you think about them as a person (like my friend).
Now, I only mention all of this, because I want to help you understand that we are all different. We all tend to recognise and thank others in the way we would like to be recognised ourselves – therefore if you are a person who likes to be thanked for a job well done, and you thank all the people you work with in that way, you may not be hitting the right buttons for each person – take time to understand people and know what it is they want to be recognised for.
I challenge you to say ‘Thank You’ more often today …
I love recognising people and when they’ve helped me, but it’s so easy to forget to do it when we are busy getting things done and living life. It’s a great way to let people know that you appreciate them and what they do. I encourage you to see if you can find more opportunities to pause and say thank you as you go about your day today? – I kinda feels good to say thank you too 🙂
___________________________________________________________________
Laura is passionate about helping people realise their potential, and achieve the results they deserve. She believes, if you change your thinking, you can change your results. If you’d like to find out more about Unleash Your Potential, you can check out our NLP courses, coaching options, and link up with us via our Facebook page, follow us on Twitter or link up with Laura via LinkedIn. You can of course also email us at: [email protected]
