Do you think you say thank you enough?

What about your thank you? My mother very often told me this when I was a kid. Even if it’s minor stuff like asking to pass something on the table and forgetting to say thank you, she was nagging at me. As growing up in such a background, I believed I was a man who can say thank you, but now, my confidence is wavering.

I found a research article of Royal Society Open Science. The article claims we humans remarkably rarely express gratitude for everyday life events where someone seeks and gains a good, service, or support from another. The researchers seem to interpret it as a good sign that most people rely on the tacit understanding of reciprocal relationship, though.

Gratitude can turn a meal into a feast

Some weeks ago, a furious snowstorm hit a part of Hokkaido, and the transportation network was damaged. I helped the domestic sales team and went together to a customer’s place to deliver our furniture on our own. It was so tough. We carried big and heavy furniture up and down the stairs many times (because it was not a private home but an office), taking special care not to damage both the new furniture and the stairs walls of the customer’s new building.

In the end, my arms were numb, but I felt everything paid off when getting the customer’s gratitude with a big smile. It was a precious experience especially for me because most of my clients in my division are furniture dealers and architects overseas. I’ve rarely seen the feedback from end users in person.

We stand to gain much only by saying thank you

We humans remarkably rarely express gratitude but really like to hear it on the other hand. Taking into consideration this our troublesome character, I think it’s even more effective to say thank you more in order to survive the harsh battle for existence in the world of humans. In addition, that neither costs any money nor hurts anyone. Let’s follow what parents say and (from a strategic perspective) not forget to say thank you even for small daily things!

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